Measure of a Man
by The Night Lord
Summary: Wolfram & Hart up the ante by resurrecting Darla and using her against Angel. Can he hold his new family together, while he battles with the darkness within him? Or will Wolfram & Hart finally win? Sequel to Poster Girl. R
1. Life in Los Angeles

**Yep, this is the sequel to Poster Girl and takes place during Season 2. I know I said I was posting it next year, but I couldn't quite wait. Some things from the show will be changed, but for the most part, it follows the series, pretty much like Poster Girl. I hope you all enjoy this sequel**

††††††††††

"Ah, Los Angeles. Is there anything more beautiful?" asked the Host; "There's always something special about this place. It draws people from near and far. There's nothing that's boring here in L.A."

††††††††††

The front door of the gym opened, as Angel, Wesley and Cordelia entered, a look of determination upon the vampire's face, as he ignored the manager and stopped before a full-body mirror, a small smile on his face

"Huh, no reflection. Guess we'll have to fix that"

Angel put his foot through the mirror, completely shattering it and revealing the hidden room, as the Kwaini demons looked up from their sacrifice. The gym manager was horrified at what he saw, as Angel vamped out and entered the room, taking on the demons, as Cordelia and Wesley freed the humans. With the demons down and out, Angel resumed his human face, before leaving the gym with Cordelia and Wesley by his side without saying another word, all the while with the gym manager looking between them and the hidden room, where the demons were groaning in pain

††††††††††

"How's she doing?" Lilah Morgan asked

"Doing better than I expected," Lindsey replied, fiddling around with a record

"You know how outdated that is?"

"She likes Brahms"

Lindsey managed to open the record with one hand and placed it on the gramophone, before setting it to play. Brahms began to play, as Darla began to hum along to it, a contented smile on her face, her eyes closed as she sang

"So, Darla, how are you doing?" Lilah asked

"She's not four, Lilah. She's four hundred years old"

"Fine. Never mind. I'll be in my office"

"Like I'm gonna care about where you are"

Lilah shot him a glare and left the office, as Lindsey inched closer to Darla

"Oh good, she's gone," Darla said, "She was starting to bug me"

"Yeah, you're not alone there," Lindsey said, "So, how are you feeling?"

"Alive at least. I can't believe he did that to me"

"Angel?"

"Yes, Angel. That soul has made him pathetic over the years"

"Word tells me he now has a son"

Darla whirled around, a glint of anger in her eyes, but Lindsey didn't back down

"Angel has a son?"

"With a human. His seer"

"How far the mighty have fallen. All that power…wasted on humanity. God I could eat his eyeballs"

"Our plans for Angel are a bit long-term, but if you can't help yourself, by all means then, eat his eyeballs"

"You're fun for a human," Darla said with a small smile

††††††††††

"Connor, there's my little boy," Cordelia cried, "Come to mama"

"He was quite good, actually," Piper said, "Hardly cried"

"Yeah, he's good for that," Angel said, "Thanks for your time, Piper"

"Anytime. Later"

Piper left the apartment, as Angel closed the door behind her

"She's a lovely girl," he said

Piper Combs was the babysitter for Connor whenever the team had to go out on missions together. Cordelia had met her not long after Connor was born and the pair hit it off pretty quickly. Not long after that, Angel ended up saving her from a gang of vampires and ever since then, she had become an unofficial member of the team. She never complained about the time of day she had to sometimes baby-sit, including late at night or early in the morning, which gave Angel and Cordelia time to breathe

"Okay, Kwaini demons preparing humans for sacrifice," Cordelia said, "Scratch that one off the list"

She crossed the demons off the whiteboard and stood back to look at the others, while Wesley had his nose in a book and Angel was holding Connor, playing with a rattle

"We're gonna have to find a new place soon," Angel said, "There's not enough room here. It's all a bit…small"

"You want me to add that to the to do list?" Cordelia asked, "No, wait, done that"

"Seriously. Connor is a growing boy. He's gonna need his own room soon"

"I know, I know. It's a bit hard trying to find a new place right now"

"I'll look around later tonight, see what I can find," Angel offered

"That sounds like a…a…argh!"

"Wesley, vision!" Angel called

Wesley quickly rushed over, holding Cordelia steady as she had her vision. Connor tried to see what the fuss was all about, as the vision passed and Cordelia sat on her couch, as Wesley headed off to get her the headache tablets

"So, what did you see?" Angel asked, rocking Connor

"Big ugly demon chasing a pregnant woman," Cordelia replied, "I don't know where"

"What did the demon look like?" Wesley asked

"Big, ugly, demon with fangs and furry. Seemed really vicious"

Wesley frowned for a moment, before grabbing one of his demonology books and sitting beside Cordelia, flicking through it as she looked over his shoulder, before finding pointing the demon out

"Ah, a Prio Motu demon," Wesley said, "Yes, it is really vicious"

"Great, now we just gotta find these demon and saved the girl," Angel said

"I might know of a place where we can get information," Wesley said

"Cool, what is it?" Cordelia asked

††††††††††

"How come I live in L.A and never see this crazy-ass shit?" Gunn asked

"Oh the ass is crazier than you think," Cordelia said

Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Connor and Gunn were all at Caritas, the karaoke bar where demons and human populated frequently. It was also a safe haven, as no violence could be permitted inside whatsoever. This is where Wesley had suggested they go for information. Angel had called Gunn and introduced him to the others. Gunn seemed to get along with Cordelia and Wesley and seemed thrilled with Connor

"What am I even doing in this place?" Angel asked

"To get information on the Prio Motu demon so you can kill it?" Cordelia said

"That there is the Host," Wesley said, pointing him out on stage, singing alongside a demon, "He reads peoples' souls, sets them on their paths. But he's not who we're here for. This is Merl"

A green-skinned demon with a bumpy head turned around. Gunn cocked an eyebrow

"Wesley, my man, you here for some info?" Merl asked, "I got it for you. You know how it works"

Wesley withdrew a sum of cash from his wallet and handed it to Merl

"Okay, this Prio Motu demon? He's a mean son of a bitch"

"Where can I find him?" Angel asked

††††††††††

Angel arrived at the location where Merl had directed him. The others remained at Caritas to get used to the place. Though Angel had a feeling he would never get used to the place. Too bright for him. A scream pulled him out and he gripped his sword, before heading into battle. He saw the pregnant woman running for her life, with the Prio Motu chasing after her. Angel collided with the demon, as it rolled to its feet and kicked Angel in the stomach, then struck him twice, making him lose his sword. Angel kicked the demon, before delivering a few punches, as the Prio Motu headbutted Angel, then picked him up and threw him against a steel post. Angel swiftly got to his feet and punched the demon a few times. It drew its sword and slashed, ripping open Angel's shirt, as he rolled under the blade and struck it on the spine with his elbow. With the demon stunned, Angel took the chance to snap its neck and drop the body, before turning to the woman. He didn't expect the reaction he got

"What have you done?" she cried in tears, falling to the demon's side, "You killed him. He was my protector and you killed him!"

"What?" was all Angel could manage

††††††††††


	2. I'm Your Protector

††††††††††

"Why did you do it?" the woman, Jo, cried

"I thought he was attacking you," Angel protested

"He was my protector!"

Before Angel could do anything, she took off. He followed after her, but to his surprise, ended up losing her. Frowning and thinking about the last several minutes, he headed back to the body and grabbed his sword, before heading back home

††††††††††

"It was her protector?" Cordelia asked

"Yeah and I killed him," Angel replied, "I didn't know"

"It's not your fault," Wesley said

"No, but I know who"

††††††††††

"Come on, man, give me a break," Merl cried

"Broken arm, broken leg or a broken neck?" Angel asked, "Pick one"

He slammed Merl against the fence again, then lifted him up with ease

"Okay, okay, so I knew about the Prio Motu. There's a bounty on the girl's head"

"What for?" Angel asked

"Her unborn child is supposed to be some holy child or something. I don't know. No one could go near her with that Prio Motu about. Then you came in"

With a growl, Angel slammed Merl into the fence and stormed off, arriving back at Cordelia's apartment in a sort of mood. Cordelia instantly noticed it, as she made him a mug of blood and handed it to him

"How'd it go?" she asked gently

"There's a bounty on the girl's head," Angel replied, "Her child is going to some sort of holy child. Damn it, thank you Powers. They messed things up"

Angel got up and stood before the whiteboard, a look of frustration upon his face. He then shoved the whiteboard, letting out a small growl, before sitting opposite Cordelia. She got up and sat beside him, watching him as he bowed his head

"Everything's going to be okay. You'll find the girl and you'll save the day, just like you always do. I'm guessing that now, you become the girl's protector, like you're mine"

Angel gave her a brief smile, his eyes fixated upon his son playing with his toys

"Look, I know how hard this road is gonna be, your road to redemption. But I know you well enough to know you'll make it in the end. And I'll be with you all the way"

Angel gave her a bigger smile than the last one

"I knew I could count on you, Cordy"

"Always here to help," Cordelia said with a smile

The pair then reclined back a little, watching as their son played with his toys

††††††††††

"So why you need my help with this?" Gunn asked

"You would know the place better than me," Angel replied, "This is where I lost her"

The pair took a left turn and came across a large ventilation fan, which Gunn stopped before when Angel started to make a right turn, but stopped and turned back to Gunn

"I don't remember this being here before"

Angel couldn't hear any sound resembling air, so he grabbed hold of the shaft and pulled, revealing a large door. Gunn let out a small whistle, as the pair entered the small room. There were two beds, mainly mattresses, and a small altar. There was also a small rack of weapons, which Angel stopped before

"Not bad digs," Gunn said, "I'm guessing this is where they lived"

"Yeah"

"The demon…that you killed…the good guy demon…and the girl?"

"Yeah"  
Angel headed over to the altar and found a large bronze disc, handing it to Gunn

"Take this back to Cordy's place. Ask Wesley to check out the symbols"

"Okay. You gonna stay here and soak up the guilt?"

"Yeah"

Gunn left, as Angel just stood there in the middle of the room, looking around and resting his eyes on Jo, who was staring at him from atop the stairs

"Oh, uh, hi"

"What are you doing here?" Jo asked, descending into the room, "You don't belong here"

"I'm here to help you. I want to help"

"Yeah, so far, you've done a bang-up job"

"Look, whatever your protector's job was, it's mine now. You're my responsibility now. I'll help you with whatever you need for the birthing"

"You sound like him," Jo said, "My protector. He kept talking about an upcoming trial where it would be decided if my baby lived or died. I don't care if she's some holy child or whatever. To me, she's my daughter"

Angel was about to say more, but stopped suddenly when he heard movement outside

"We have to go now"

††††††††††

"So, what you got there, Gunn?" Cordelia asked, holding Connor

"Some relic thingy. Angel wanted English to check it out"

"It's Wesley," the former Watcher said

"Yo-kay. Have fun with it"

Wesley took the disc and began cross-referencing the symbols with his books, as Cordelia changed Connor and grabbed his bottle for him, as Gunn took a look around the place. He had never been here before and was wondering how four people lived here. Once Connor was fed, Cordelia put him down on his play mat

"Got yourself a nice place here," Gunn commented

"Thanks," Cordelia said

"These symbols refer to something about a trial," Wesley said, "This relic is important to the trial. Angel would be needing it"

"Angel shouldn't be too far away," Gunn said, "Unless he got into trouble"

††††††††††

"This way," Angel said

He led the way through the sewers with Jo close behind him. Reaching a familiar destination, Angel climbed up the ladder, coming out into a derelict room and helping Jo up, before leaving the basement and coming out into the lobby

"What is this place?" Jo asked, looking around

They were in a rundown hotel. Sheets covered most of the furniture, while the floor was covered in a layer of dust. Angel looked around, feeling nostalgic at the place. It had been so long since he was last here. A noise pulled him out of memory lane and he turned to Jo who had a terrified look on her face

"Here, take this card," Angel said, handing her a business card, "And go to the address on the back. My friends will help you. I'll meet you there"

Jo took the card and headed off, as Angel turned to the group of three vampires

"Come on, boys, what are you waiting for?" Angel asked, "Afraid?"

"Yeah right. Kill him"

Angel growled and kicked a vampire in the stomach, then blocked and punched another vampire, as the third vampire struck him. Angel punched him back, kicking the first vampire and throwing the second vampire down to the ground. Whirling around, Angel backhanded the third vampire and flicked his wrist, staking the first vampire, then ducked the third vampire's swung and staked him, before turning and blocking the second vampire's attacks and staking him

††††††††††

Cordelia answered the knock at her door, Connor on her hips, as Angel walked in, smiling at his son, then pulling Cordelia into a hug

"You look beat up," she said

"Just a little," he replied, "So, is she here?"

"Who?" Wesley asked

"The pregnant girl. I told her to come here. She's not here?"

"No, she never showed up," Cordelia said

"Damn"

††††††††††


	3. Judgement

††††††††††

Angel sat at the bar, arms crossed over and a look of resistance on his face. Cordelia and Wesley were beside him, watching the singers on the stage mangle their songs, as the Host came over to them

"Well, look at you," he grinned to Angel, "A big hunk of hero. Entertain us with a song?"

"No thanks," Angel said, "I'm waiting for someone"

"Come on, Angel, sing for us," Cordelia said, "It could be entertaining"

"Wes, when is Merl gonna get here?"

"Um…from the looks of things…never"

"Dammit. I need to find her"

"The damsel in distress?" the Host asked, "I could help. Lovely system of giving and receiving. Sing for us and I'll help you find the girl"

"Yeah, come on," Cordelia said, "Don't be scared"

"Okay then," Angel said, finally relenting, "I'll regret this"

He headed up on stage, grabbed the mike, took a deep breath he didn't need and broke out into a song, singing the Barry Manilow classic 'Mandy'. The Host, Cordelia and Wesley all got the same horrified looks on their faces and even Connor looked like he wanted to scream due to the music. Angel looked highly uncomfortable as he sang, glad when it was over and he headed back to the bar

"Okay, I take it back," Cordelia said, "it wasn't entertaining. It was horrifying. Even Connor didn't like it"

"I have to agree," Wesley said

"What did you find out?" Angel asked the Host, "Do I want to know?"

"The girl? You can find her here. Best of luck, Angel. Be the champion"

Angel took the address, gave Cordelia and Connor a quick kiss, before leaving

"So, how is the little tyke?" the Host asked

"He's doing good," Cordelia replied with a smile, "Sleeps a lot more"

"Who would've thought? A seer with a child to a vampire, who is also a champion. Pretty lucky kid. He's gonna have an interesting future ahead of him"

"Please tell me he's gonna end up in the land of the rich and famous," Cordelia said

"Well, he's connected to the Powers in a way, via you. I don't know what of future he'll have, as we have to wait until he's a little older, but already I can tell it's interesting. Kid's gonna be a champ like his dad"

††††††††††

Jo arrived at the street, desperation on her face. She had left Angel behind at the hotel, preferring to survive on her own. She could do it, she figured, but first, she needed to make sure that her baby would be safe, which is why she was here at this address. A large pedestal suddenly appeared, seating three robed demons, as an armoured warrior appeared nearby on a horse, carrying a large lance, as he rode over and tossed down a large bronze disc

"Did you bring your token?" one of the judges asked

"I..uh…" Jo answered

"She has no token. Do with her as you wish," the other judge told the knight

The knight made a move for Jo, but a second bronze disc appeared alongside the first

"I will fight for her," Angel said

"Very well then," said a judge

A second horse appeared, complete with a shield, sword and lance, as Angel climbed up and grabbed his lance, before facing the other knight

"Alright then, here we go"

The traffic light switched from red to green, signalling the start of the joust. Angel dug his heels in, spurring his horse into a charge, as the knight barrelled towards him. Bracing himself for the impact, Angel thrusted his lance out, striking it against the knight, while the knight's lance slammed into Angel's mid-section, throwing him off his horse. Angel groaned in pain, slowly getting to his feet and removing the chunk of wood from his stomach, as the knight threw his broken lance aside, drew his sword and charged again. Angel waited until the right time, grabbing the knight by the wrist and pulling him off his horse, before removing his sword from his hand

The knight got to his feet and drew a small knife, slashing at Angel. Having the larger weapon, Angel was able to keep the knight at bay, blocking and defending his blows, searching for an opening, but the knight was barely leaving any. Jo watched with worry etched on her face, silently hoping that Angel would win the fight. The knight kicked Angel in the shins with his steel boot, then sliced his wrist, causing him to lose hold of his sword, before ramming the knife into Angel's heart, bringing him to his knees. The knight kicked Angel over and removed the knife, before heading over to Jo, who started to back away, fear in her eyes as the knight raised his knife

"Hey"

The knight whirled around, seeing Angel standing right before him, as a sword impaled him through the stomach. Angel dropped the knight and turned to the judges

"She lives," he said

"Very well. We shall protect her and the child until the child is of age," said the judge

They faded away, as Jo smiled at Angel and gave him a quick hug

"Thank you"

"It was no problem," he said

††††††††††

"How did it go?" Cordelia asked later that night

"It went good," Angel replied, picking up Connor, "I saved the girl. She's safe. That's what matters. It all works out"

"Good, cause I am tired from sitting up waiting for you"

"Worried about me?"

"Of course I was. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Come on, let's go to bed. I'm tired and sore"

"See, that's exactly my point. Every time you go out, you get hurt"

"Okay, honey, I get the point. I'll be fine"

He kissed her cheek, one arm around her shoulders and Connor resting on his other arm, as the couple headed towards the bedroom

"And for the record, your singing completely sucks. I mean, Mandy??"

"It's a lovely song. I like it"

"You are so weird"

††††††††††

Angel waited patiently at the desk, as a buzzer sounded and the person sat down across from him, a smile on her face as she reached for the phone receiver

"Angel, how's things?" Faith asked

"Yeah, it's going good. How about you?" Angel asked

"Can't complain. Three meals a day, occasional movie. Still fighting evil?"

"Always. Though last night was completely different"

"Really? How so?" Faith asked, perking up

"I had to sing karaoke. In front of people"

"You serious?"

"Completely. I sang Barry Manilow," Angel said

"Copacabana?"

"Mandy. I don't want to dwell on it"

"I bet the missus loved that one. How's little Connor coming along?"

"He's coming along great. Growing up quickly. Before I know it, he's gonna be walking and talking"

"Cute. I like the photos you got me of him and the family"

"There'll be more soon. Cordy loves taking photos of him"

"I bet she does. She loves that kid to death. You can tell," Faith said

"Yeah, I know," Angel replied with a grin, "Same here"

"I know. It's good to see you again"

"Yeah, same here, Faith. I hope this all works out for you"

"The road to redemption is a rocky path"

"Indeed it is"

"Reckon we'll make it"

"We will. One step at a time"

Faith smiled

"That's what I like to hear"

"Glad you appreciate it," Angel said

††††††††††


	4. Hotel History

††††††††††

"You want us to come and live here?" Cordelia asked in apprehension

"Well, once we've cleaned it up and all, it'll be great," Angel replied

The couple were standing in the doorway of the Hyperion Hotel

"Okay, so what made you want to come here?" Cordelia asked, looking around

"It's abandoned, it hasn't been used in about thirty years, it's big and spacious. It's great," Angel replied

"Uh-huh. If I put Connor down, we'll lose him in the dust"

"Cordy, we'll clean it up. It'll be as good as new in no time"

"Has Wesley seen this?"

"Not yet. He's out getting some new books, but I'll show him when he gets back"

"Well, I've always imagined living in a hotel that was mine"

"So you agree?"

"Okay, fine, we'll move here"

Angel smiled and kissed her

"It'll all turn out for the best, you'll see"

††††††††††

"This place will be perfect for our headquarters," Wesley said later that day

"Yeah, once it's all cleaned and perfect looking," Cordelia said

"However, I can feel an evil presence residing here"

"Oh great. Thanks. I really wanted to hear that"

"I feel it whispering to me. I wonder if Angel knows about this"

"If he did, I'm so kicking his ass. Well, I'm heading home. Got a few things to clear up, namely the end of my time there, since I'm coming here"

Cordelia left the hotel, while Wesley remained, looking around the place. He could feel that there was a history here along with this evil presence. Deciding to talk about it with Angel, he left the hotel and headed back to Cordelia's apartment, where she and Angel were busy packing things up, while Connor was chewing on a toy

"So, what do you think of the place?" Angel asked

"He thinks there's something evil there," Cordelia interrupted

"Uh, well, there is"

"Oh gee thanks, Angel. When were you planning on telling me?"

"I was hoping to take care of it myself"

"So what's there?" Wesley asked, heading towards one of his books

"Thesulac demon," Angel replied, "It's been there since the fifties"

"How do you know?" Cordelia asked

"Because I used to live there"

††††††††††

**1952**

_"I can't believe it. A vampire that wants to help people," the store clerk said_

"_I'm different from other vampires," Angel replied, "So, this is it?"_

_"Yes, a Thesulac demon. Whispers to its victims, feeds on their innate insecurities"_

"_And this is what I'll need to defeat him?"_

"_Yes, it will banish the Thesulac to another dimension"_

_Angel placed the orb into the small bag, as well as the demonology book and a small battleaxe in case he needed it, hoping he didn't, before heading back to the hotel. He had been living at the Hyperion Hotel for about a year now, keeping to himself, never talking to the other residents, trying to avoid temptation in a way. Over the last few weeks, everything started to go downhill. People were committing suicide in the hotel after brief spells of insanity. Angel had simply looked the other way, not wanting to get involved. But then he helped to protect a young woman named Julie from her 'boyfriend'. Upon learning that her 'boyfriend' was actually the FBI, wanting to question Julie over a robbery, Angel was tempted to hand her over, but her pleading prevented him from doing so. Ever since then, she started hanging out with him, despite him trying to push her away. Eventually, she became the closest thing he had to a friend since his rebirth two hundred years ago. And so, Angel decided to help the residents of the Hyperion by destroying the demon that plagued them. However, when he got back to the hotel, he found he was too late. The residents were attacking Julie, blaming her for all the deaths that had occurred, calling her a monster. Angel was about to intervene, but what happened next completely shocked him_

"_It's him," Julie cried, pointing at Angel, consumed by paranoia, "He's the monster. He's got blood in his room!"_

_Angel was stunned by it all, too stunned to react when the residents attacked him, beating him down and tying a rope around his neck, all the while Julie watched helplessly, tears running down her face, unable to do a thing. The residents tied off the other end of the rope and pushed Angel over the balcony, swinging him in the air in the lobby. Several of them cheered at his 'death', but one by one, the residents walked away, leaving Angel alone. He opened his eyes and pulled himself out of the rope, dropping down into the lobby, as the Thesulac appeared_

"_Lot of people here. Mmm, delicious, delicious. All tasty"_

_Angel didn't answer, so the Thesulac tried again_

"_But here you are, trying to help them. See what happens when you get too close? They turn on you. Cause, it's not really their fault. I just give them a little push and have myself a tasty meal at the end. Lot of people here need your help"_

_Without looking at the Thesulac, Angel began walking away, before saying,_

"_Take them all"_

_The Thesulac laughed in triumph, delighted that it could feed greedily without interruption, laughing as he watched Angel walk away, leaving the people helpless_

††††††††††

The Thesulac demon roared in pain as Wesley performed the exorcism spell. It had been residing in the Hyperion for nearly fifty years, surviving off the massive meal he had in 1952 from all the residents, thanks to Angel, who was here right now, doing what he should have done all those years ago. Cordelia and Gunn watched on as Wesley completed the spell, banishing the demon from the hotel

"Good work, Wes," Angel said, "This is gonna be our new headquarters now"

"Good thing we took care of the demon first," Gunn said, "We'd be having problems otherwise. English would be more paranoid than ever"

"I am not paranoid," Wesley said, "Unless people been saying it behind my back"

"Well, I just said it to your face"

"You don't think I'm paranoid, do you?" Wesley asked Angel

"No, not at all"

"Oh good then"

Angel disappeared upstairs, heading to one of the rooms he was familiar with. There, lying on the bed was Julie, quietly talking to herself. She had been living in the hotel since the fifties, with the Thesulac slowly feeding off her fears. She was tormenting herself as she had surrendered her only friend to his death. Angel sat on the bed beside her, taking her hand in his. She looked at him and smiled

"It's you," she said slowly, "I remember you. You've come back"

"Yeah, I have," Angel said

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you. If only I could change it"

"It's okay. I'm sorry as well. And I forgive you"

Julie smiled, the smile reaching her eyes as Angel shared it with her

"I'll be getting up soon. I just need to close my eyes for a bit. Just for a bit"

Julie smiled and closed her eyes, as Angel listened to her heartbeat getting fainter and fainter until it stopped altogether. He smiled, knowing she had passed away peacefully

"Rest in peace, Julie"

††††††††††

_A few days later…_

"Well, the place is all clean," Cordelia said, "Finally"

"You did a good job, honey. It looks really good," Angel said

"Good. Now, my residence has been taken care of. Everything of my and Connor's belongings are here, waiting to be unpacked"

"And Wesley's searching for more books to add to his shelf"

"That doesn't surprise me"

"Come on, I'm tired, Cordy. I'm going to bed. You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll put Connor to bed and I'll be there soon"

Angel gave her a kiss and headed upstairs to his room, stripping down and getting into bed. He heard Cordelia moving around downstairs, before coming up and putting Connor to bed, then joining him not long after. Angel pulled her close to him, drifting off to sleep, but for some reason, his dreams contained a hauntingly familiar blond woman, one he never thought he'd ever dream about…Darla

††††††††††


	5. Calynthia Powder

Sorry about the long wait, but I've been working on my X-Men and Sin City fics. Now that they're out of the way, I can return to this story. And here is the next chapter

††††††††††

Angel was tired as hell. He couldn't completely understand why. He slept his usual hours every day, had a cup of coffee every few hours or so and yet, he was tired. It wasn't due to Connor, as his son mostly slept through the night. It could be the dreams he'd been having as of late. He didn't tell anyone about them, not even Cordelia, but for the last few nights, he'd been having the same or similar dream: Angel would be at the hotel or at Caritas, chilling or dancing with a woman. But it was never Cordelia. For some reason unknown to him, Angel was dreaming of Darla. It was all confusing for him. Why would he be dreaming about Darla three years after he killed her in Sunnydale? Was it because he felt some sudden guilt for it?

"Angel, you still residing in there?" Cordelia asked

"Huh, what?" Angel asked, snapping out of his thoughts

"I just asked you if you could look after Connor for a while. I'm going out with Piper"

"I'm sorry. Lack of sleep. What's going on?"

"I could ask you the same question. For the last few nights, you've been tossing and turning in your sleep. And I swear you were saying 'Darla' last night"

Angel gulped as Cordelia gave him a glare

"I don't know what it is. I'm just not sleeping right. So, where's Connor?"

Cordelia noticed the quick change of subject and the fact that he didn't look her in the eye until he asked for Connor, but decided to corner him later and demand an answer

"He's out in the lobby with Wesley. Go rescue him. I'm going out"

"With Piper? You going shopping?"

"Well yeah, I need a few things for me and Connor," Cordelia said, "But don't worry, we won't completely drain your credit card," she added off his horrified look

"That's comforting. Alright, I'll go get Connor then. Have fun"

"One more thing. Can I borrow your car?"

Five minutes later…

"Did Cordelia and Piper just take off in your car?" Wesley asked

"Yes," Angel replied somewhat sadly, playing with Connor

"How did she manage to convince you?"

"With a large, sharp wooden stake"

Wesley sat back with a book in hand, watching as Angel played with his son

"You know, Angel, you don't quite look alright"

"I'm fine," Angel replied instantly, "I'm completely okay. Just tired, that's all"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It could be because of the hotel. You know, cleaning and renovating"

"I see," Wesley said, not completely convinced

"You know what, I'm gonna go out," Angel said after a few minutes, "I'll be taking Connor with me"

"Do you want me to come with?" Wesley asked

"No. I'll be fine"

Angel placed Connor in his carrycot, along with a few toys, before putting his duster on and disappearing into the basement

"There is something wrong with him," Wesley muttered, turning to his book

††††††††††

"How's the Angel/Darla thing coming along?" Lilah asked

"It's coming along fine," Lindsey replied, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"No. I wanted to see how your project was working out"

"It'll work out just fine"

"You know, I'm interested to see how this goes. Considering the fact that Angel is in love with his seer, judging from their kid, so what makes you think this will work?"

"Darla is the reason Angel exists," Lindsey replied, "She created the killer in him. Now that he has a soul and she's human, imagine the possibilities of what that can do. Also, he killed her, his own sire, his connection to this world. Massive guilt trip"

"Wow, you're far cleverer than I would have given you credit for," Lilah said

"Thanks, Lilah," he said sarcastically

"Anytime, Lindsey"

She smirked and walked off, as Lindsey turned back to his office. Darla was reclining back on the couch, a book in hand and Mozart softly playing

"Where have you been?" she asked without looking up from her book

"Business. You ready to give this a shot?" Lindsey asked

"Sure. I want to see him again"

††††††††††

"So, how's the whole gang going?" Piper asked

"Going fine. Though I'm worried about Angel," Cordelia replied

"What's he doing this time?"

"Well, he's sleeping badly. And that's just minor. The major part is the fact that he seems to be dreaming about Darla"

"Who's that? An old girlfriend"

"You have no idea just how old. Like four hundred years old"

"That's quite a long time. So, she is Angel's old girlfriend?"

"Pipe, she was the one who made Angel. Sired him, turned him into a vampire"

"Sounds like fun," Piper said

"Yeah, but Angel killed her three years ago, so I don't get why he's suddenly dreaming about her. It's annoying. I hope he doesn't start brooding about her"

"I'm sure it's just nothing, Cordelia"

"Yeah, I hope so," Cordelia sighed, "I want to know why he's dreaming about her"

"He'll tell you if you ask him"

"I did. He changed the subject. I seriously hope you're right and it is nothing. Ooh, that'll look good on Connor," Cordelia said, perusing the baby clothes rack, "Where was I?"

"You're hoping this Darla thing is nothing?" Piper said, "What some coffee?"

"Sounds good. I'll get this for my little boy"

††††††††††

Angel arrived at Caritas, carrycot in hand, as he took a seat at a booth near the wall, setting Connor down beside him, before looking around at the karaoke bar. He couldn't see the Host anywhere and did his best to ignore the terrible singing happening on stage, which was hard, considering that he had vampire hearing and the singing really was terrible. He checked on Connor to see that he was still sleeping, before nervously looking around the bar again

"This is a stupid idea," Angel thought, "What am I doing h-?"

"How's it going there, champ?" the Host asked, suddenly appearing

"Things are going just fine," Angel replied

"Yeah, sure they are," the Host said, sitting down before him, "I can tell that things aren't fine. You're confused about something"

"I am. It's about my sire. Her name is Darla. For the last few nights, I've been dreaming about her. And when I wake up, I can smell her scent. I don't understand why"

"Well, for one, someone is messing with your mind"

"How can you tell?"

"I've got a good nose, just like you. Although in this case, mine's better. Someone is using Calynthia powder on you, which is why you can't detect it"

"What is Calynthia powder?" Angel asked, checking on Connor again

"Sends you into restless sleep, plagued by dreams and renders you more…shall we say, suggestible," the Host replied, "I know of a small antidote that'll help. Take it and you'll find that you won't be dreaming of Darla no more"

The Host then left the table, returning a few minutes later with a small vial of faint, light blue powder. Angel took the vial and looked at it closely

"So this should stop me dreaming about Darla?" Angel asked unsurely

"That's right, champ. Soon, you'll have the dreams you should be having, for example, of a certain seer"

Angel glared at the Host, who simply chuckled and headed off for the stage

"Come on, kid, let's head home," Angel said, picking up Connor, "Mommy would be back by now, with a load of new clothes for you and no money left for me"

††††††††††


	6. Finding Darla

††††††††††

Angel was walking through the streets of Los Angeles, lost in his thoughts. It had been two weeks since he took the antidote to the Calynthia powder and found that Lorne had been correct. Now he had been sleeping better, but it didn't help the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about Darla. He couldn't understand it. Why was he thinking about Darla, especially now, after all these years? He was in a happy relationship with Cordelia. They had a son together for crying out loud. None of this made sense. Darla was his past and his reason for being here today. He shouldn't be thinking about her! So why now?

Just then, a scent caught his attention. And he knew instantly whose it was. Looking around, Angel caught sight of her, walking through the crowds, taking a look at some of the market stalls. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Darla was alive

††††††††††

"You look as if you've seen a ghost," Cordelia said, rocking Connor to sleep

"I saw her," Angel said, "She's alive"

"Okay, you need to clarify things here. Who's alive?" Cordelia asked

"Darla. She's alive"

"Impossible," Wesley said, "You killed Darla over three years ago"

"I'm serious. I saw her, I smelt her. It was Darla"

"Just because this woman smelled like Darla, doesn't mean-" Wesley started

"You had sex with a bleached blonde last night," Angel said after sniffing him

"Good Lord"

"Tell me about it," Cordelia said, "The fact that you had sex"

Wesley glared at her, as Angel continued,

"I really did see her, guys, I'm not crazy"

"Where did you see her?" Wesley asked

"Between the clown and the talking hotdog. I have to find out why she's alive"

"Okay, say this really is Darla," Cordelia said, "Best guess would be Wolfram and Hart. They seem like the kinda guys that could do this"

"I'm gonna go and find out," Angel said

"Angel, you can't go in there," Wesley said, "They have vampire detectors. Cordelia and I will go in"

"Okay fine then. Here, Cordy, I'll put him to bed"

Angel took the sleeping Connor out of her arms and headed upstairs

††††††††††

Cordelia and Wesley unsuspiciously entered the Wolfram and Hart building, dressed in business clothes as they made their way to the elevator. However, they were both surprised to see that Angel and Gunn were in the elevator, about to take it up

"What are you doing here?" Cordelia demanded, "Is Piper with Connor?"

"I'm here for some answers and yes he is," Angel replied

"What are you doing here?" Cordelia asked Gunn

"I'm here for the ride"

"What about the vamp detectors?" Wesley asked

"We go in, bust some heads, get some answers and get out before security arrives"

"How come I wasn't told bout this?" Gunn asked the vampire

"What are you doing here anyway?" Angel asked his girlfriend

"Lawyer from Wolfram and Hart," Cordelia replied, adjusting her glasses, "Remember when we said that Wes and I will go?"

"Angel, by now, you would have triggered the alarms," Wesley said

"So let's stop wasting time," Angel said, "Get in"

Wesley and Cordelia got into the elevator, as Angel took them to the sixth floor, before heading to Lindsey's office. Upon entering, he saw no sign of the lawyer, but could smell Darla's scent all over the office

"She's been here," Angel said

"Let's see what we can get on the files," Wesley said, heading for the computer

"Are you skilled at hacking into the mainframe?" Cordelia asked

"Are you?" he shot back

"Wished we had Willow here"

"Nice place," Gunn said, "This is the kinda office I'd like to have," then added off everyone's looks, "You know, if I was an evil lawyer and all that"

"Anything on Darla?" Angel asked

At that moment, Lindsey and a group of security guards arrived in the office

"You're all trespassing here," he said

"Lindsey. Just the guy I wanna see," Angel said, "Where's Darla?"

"Who?"

"Darla? You know, my sire? You brought her back from the dead"

"I know who Darla is, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Now leave this place before things get messy"

Angel and the others left the office, but before he left, Angel stopped before Lindsey and whispered into his ear,

"I will find out what you're up to. And if I find out that you have been using Darla for your own needs, I'll come for you and rip your spine out"

"Empty threats, Angel," Lindsey said, "Don't expect that to scare me"

Angel shot him a glare, before leaving the office

"We really need to update our vampire detection system," Lindsey said

††††††††††

"Well, that went swimmingly," Cordelia said, "We're still no closer to finding out if Darla is real or just a figment of Angel's imagination"

"I swear she's alive. I saw her, I smelled her," Angel said defensively

"It would be very difficult to bring a vampire back from the dead," Wesley said

"Oh God," Angel said, realizing something, "She was what was in the box. She was what Wolfram and Hart brought back when I was fighting Vocah"

"What do you mean?"

"There was a ritual going on. That's why Vocah attacked you two. So he could get the scroll in order to resurrect Darla. I've got to find her"

"Alright then, we'll get started on it," Wesley said

"It's shouldn't be too hard," Angel said, "We're detectives, it's what we're good at"

"It's what we suck at," Cordelia said, "Unless there is a site called 'www dot oh-by-the-way-we've-got-Darla-stashed-here dot com', we're completely out of luck"

"We'll find a way"

"Okay, office, now!" Cordelia said

Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the office, closing the door so Wesley wouldn't hear them

"What is wrong with you?" Cordelia asked, "What is with this sudden obsession with Darla. It's driving me up the freaking wall"

"I don't know," Angel admitted, "I just know that she's alive. I know Wolfram and Hart would be trying to use her against me. Hey, I was the one who killed her. And now she's alive again. Got some guilt in here"

"Darla is in your past, Angel. I don't know why you want to bother"

"She's the one who made me who I am"

"No, she simply created the killer in you. The person you are now, that's thanks to your little family here. You know, Wesley, me and your son," Cordelia said

"I just," Angel said, trailing off a little, "I've got to find her, Cordy. I need to know what's going on and Darla's the only one who can tell me"

"You know I am so not going to enjoy this. These past couple of weeks when you were in your little 'Darla and me' world, I've noticed you drifting away from me. And not just me, but away from Connor as well"

"I haven't not-" Angel started

"Of course you haven't noticed," Cordelia cut in, "This Darla obsession needs to stop. It needs to stop right now, before I lose you. And I don't want that for my son"

"Okay then. I'll lay off the whole Darla thing"

††††††††††

Later that night, Cordelia was in bed asleep, with Connor in his bassinet by her side of the bed. However, Angel wasn't in bed with her. He was sitting in his armchair, drawing in his sketchbook. The floor around him was already covered with various other sketches. And there was only one person drawn upon the paper: Darla. For some reason, Angel couldn't get her out of his mind, no matter what Cordelia said. And he didn't know that Darla was standing outside his bedroom window, a small smile on her face as she watched him fall deeper into his obsession with her. The game was on

††††††††††


	7. Talking With Darla

††††††††††

"Cordelia, what happen to your hair?" Wesley asked, "It looks great"

Cordelia gave him a small smile, while touching her now short, black hair

"When did this happen?" Wesley asked

Cordelia dropped the smile, as a frown overcame her

"Three days ago. Pay attention"

At that moment, Angel came down the stairs, carrying a wide-awake Connor as he made his way over to the counter and stopping short before Cordelia

"Your hair. It looks great. When did that happen?" he asked

"Three days ago. Pay attention," Wesley said

"Does he need a change?" Cordelia asked, referring to Connor

"Nah, I've already done it," Angel replied

He placed Connor in the bassinet and played a rattle before him

"So, you over your little Darla obsession?" Cordelia asked

"Yeah, I am," Angel replied, looking up at her and Wesley, "I don't know what came over me these last few weeks. But don't worry, I'm over her"

"Got her address," Gunn cried, walking into the hotel, before catching the look on Cordelia's face, as she turned to glare at Angel, "Guess I wasn't suppose to say that?"

"No, please, do go on," Cordelia said, still glaring at the vampire

"Okay then," Gunn said, "Anyhoo, I've got Darla's address right here"

"Good work, Gunn," Angel said, grabbing his duster

"And where do you think you're going?" Cordelia asked, raising an eyebrow, "It's still daylight and I don't think you're gonna be going anywhere near her at all"

"Okay then, good point. Gunn, reckon you can scope the place out?" Angel asked

"Sure can do"

Gunn headed off, as Angel turned to Cordelia, an uneasy look on his face

"So, any cases or what?"

"Oh, I'm gonna so stake you in your sleep tonight," Cordelia threatened

**  
††††††††††**

Later that night, Angel was hanging outside the suburban house, watching the occupants. Gunn had given him the information about Darla and Angel had snuck out of the hotel, knowing that Cordelia would actually follow up on her threat, but he needed to talk to Darla. He wanted to know what exactly had happened to her. He could see Darla and her 'husband' sitting at the table, chatting to each other. He edged closer to the house, trying to hear what they were saying. It was at that moment, that Darla screamed. Breaking into the house, surprised to find that he could enter, Angel saw the 'husband' lying dead on the floor, twin puncture marks on his throat. A small pile of dust was nearby, while Darla was on the phone

"Hello, Darla. How's things?" Angel asked

"Go away. I'm calling the police," Darla cried

Angel grinned and grabbed the phone receiver out of her hand, snapping it in half with ease, as Darla stared wide-eyed at him in horror

"There's gonna be none of that. Now, you and I are going to have a chat"

"Police! Freeze!" cried an officer

"_Shit, that was quick!"_ Angel thought

He dived out of the window and disappeared from sight, as Kate Lockley entered the house, holstering her firearm as she went to Darla

"What happened here?" she asked gently

"A man came into the house," Darla cried, "His face, it was so horrible. He was just everywhere, biting. He killed Hank, look!"

Kate looked over at the body, noticing the vampire bite mark on his throat

"What did the man look like?" Kate asked

**  
††††††††††**

"Where is he?" Kate demanded, bursting into the hotel

"Excuse me," Cordelia cried, "What gives you the damn right to-"

"Where is Angel?" Kate interrupted, a furious look on her face

"Angel is not here," Wesley replied calmly, "What business do you have here, Officer Lockley?"

"Angel just attacked some poor girl and killed her husband"

"Pfft," Cordelia said, "How did he get in?"

"The only way a vampire can get inside a private house is if he's invited in by the owner," Wesley said, before grabbing a book, "What is the girl's name?"

"Her name is Darla," Kate replied

"Is this what she looks like?" Wesley asked

He opened the book to a picture of Darla from 1773 and showed it to Kate

"Darla is Angel's sire," Wesley continued, "She is a vampire. Or was. I'm not quite sure about that part"

"I'll wait until Angel returns," Kate said

**  
††††††††††**

Darla was outside, watching as the police officers went through the house, searching for clues. Suddenly, hands reached down from the tree behind her and grabbed her around the neck and shoulders, hoisting her out of sight. She was then thrown into a Plymouth GTX, as Angel started up the engine and drove off

"Don't even think about jumping out," he warned, "We're going to have a little chat"

He kept driving until they were a little out of town and came to a small block unit. Upon entering, it turned out to have a large underground room. Angel had Darla by the arm as he dragged her downstairs, before tossing her to the floor

"That's a little more like it," Darla smirked, losing the façade

"So, you were what Wolfram and Hart brought back in that box," Angel said, "Why?"

"You've been disrupting their plans. So we'll say that they're not real happy with you"

"I don't know what they were thinking, but how long did they expect this to last?" Angel asked, "You're human now. You have a soul. And soon, all those horrible things you've done, they'll be coming back to haunt you"

Darla got up from the floor and pressed herself against Angel, her hands splayed over his chest as she smirked at him

"So, Angel, how's your little boy going, hm?"

"Now, that is none of your business"

"Well, sure it is. Part of my lineage, is he not? Oh well, never mind about Connor. Let's talk about you, Angelus. Where is my vampire hiding?"

"In a place where you'll never see him," Angel replied

"Oh come on now, don't be like that," Darla said

She brought Angel's face close to hers, before pressing her lips against his. Angel wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, deepening the kiss, as he pressed her against a pillar. He drew back, his face changing, as he then ran his fangs along her collarbone. Darla moaned, as Angel suddenly dropped her and stepped back

"It's not going to work, Darla," Angel said, shifting back, "Nice try, though"

"You wanted it, I could tell you did," Darla said

"Sorry, Darla, you can try all you want, but you're not getting me"

"You and I were together for 150 years, Angelus. There's no turning away from that. We were connected, more connected than you and Buffy. The stupid Slayer wasn't perfect happiness, Angelus. She was just new"

"I'm more connected to Cordelia than I am to you," Angel said

"Why, because you have a child together?" Darla asked, "Doesn't mean a thing"

"Means a lot to me. I care about her. I love her. You and I, we were incapable of love. We were just demons, slaughtering the innocent. And I'm making up for that. So will you, once the soul starts kicking in"

"You think your soul will save you?" Darla asked, getting closer, "You think God will accept you as you try to redeem yourself?"

She whipped out a cross and drove it against Angel's chest. He growled, vamping out in pain, as smoke rose up from the burn mark. Darla removed the cross and stepped back, as Angel resumed his human face

"God doesn't want you, Angelus. But I do"

She then turned and headed up the stairs, before stopping the sunlight and looking back at Angel. He stayed in the darkness, as she smiled at him and walked out

††††††††††


	8. Saving You

††††††††††

"Darla? Are you okay?" Lindsey asked gently

"Who am I?" she asked softly, staring out the window at the sun

"Darla?"

"That's not my real name. I don't even remember my real name. I'm Darla. But…I remember…everything. That fool was right"

"Excuse me?" Lindsey said, edging closer to her, "Is everything alright?"

"I've been alive for 400 years. I've seen everything. I've done everything. Slaughtered hundreds of people. This soul…it's trapping me"

She turned around to face Lindsey, heading towards him

"What am I?" she asked, a hint of desperation in her voice

"Last I checked, you were human. However-"

"I want it to stop," Darla cried, "I want it to end. I don't want this anymore"

"Hey, everything's gonna be okay," Lindsey said, getting close to her

She looked up at him, before pulling him close and kissing him. Lindsey allowed the kiss, moving towards her neck, as she suddenly bit him on the neck. He cried out, jumping back, a hand to his neck

"What am I?" Darla cried again, "Who am I?"

"Calm down," Lindsey said

Darla went for the phone, as a security guard arrived in the office

"Everything okay, Lindsey?" he asked

"Everything's fine. Just go," Lindsey said, "Darla, give me the phone"

She backed away from him, clutching the phone to her chest. The security guard went for his gun. Lindsey cried out, but Darla struck him with the phone. The guard whipped out his gun, only for Lindsey to strike him with his plastic hand. The guard went down, as Darla stood by the desk, a few tears running down her face

"Come on, let's go," Lindsey said

††††††††††

Lindsey was heading back to his car, having finished for the day. He had helped Darla escape from Wolfram and Hart and as a result, he had gotten in trouble. Holland had reprimanded him for helping her, before giving the order to have Darla exterminated, seeing her as a liability to the firm. He was hearing his car, taking out his cell phone and started dialling a number, when a noose suddenly fell around his neck and he was hoisted into the air

"So, Lindsey, how's things been for you?" Angel asked, "Top dog at the firm, having Darla pulling my strings. Oh yeah, where is Darla? What have you been doing with her?"

Lindsey choked and raised his phone, as Cordelia's voice rang out

"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless," the message said

"I was about to call you," he choked, "Holland's gonna have her killed"

"Yeah and where will that happen?" Angel growled

"I'll tell you the location if you let me go," Lindsey said

Angel let go the rope, dropping Lindsey to the ground, before standing over him

"Let's have at it then, Lindsey"

††††††††††

The white van doors burst open, as Darla was thrown onto the ground. She looked over her shoulder, as the three cleaners got out after her. One of them grinned as he withdrew a handgun and aimed it at her. However, Angel came flying around the corner in his car and floored the gas, slamming into one of the cleaners. Leaping out of the car, Angel disarmed the first cleaner and struck him across the jaw, before throwing him against the wall and booting the other cleaner in the chest. The cleaner swung his fist, but Angel blocked and struck him down

"Let's get out of here," Angel said, helping Darla to the Plymouth

††††††††††

Angel and Darla entered the Hyperion, as Cordelia and Wesley stood by each other, their arms crossed as they stared at Darla, while Angel headed to the counter

"I think it's fair to say that we don't like you," Wesley said

"You've had my boyfriend up in knots for the last few weeks," Cordelia said

"You are now here as our prisoner, so don't try to escape"

"Or we'll hit you over the head. With very large and heavy books"

"You'll be safe here," Angel said, standing before Darla, "Wolfram and Hart can't get you here"

"I knew you would find me again," Darla said, sitting down on the couch

Cordelia and Wesley went back into the office, as Angel knelt before his sire

"I knew you could make things all better"

"I'm here for you, Darla. I'll help you with whatever I can"

"Then you'll be able to make this soul go away. Take away all my pain?"

"I don't want to know what you're asking of me," Angel said, rising up

"Save me, Angel. I gave you life; I freed you from this world. Now it's time for you to return the favour"

"Favour? You damned me, Darla"

Darla shoved Angel away and bolted for the door, with Angel close behind her

"No, leave me alone, Angel. This time, don't come looking for me"

Angel simply stood there as Darla left the hotel

"That went well," Cordelia commented, "Thank God she wasn't here long"

"She's going to do something stupid," Angel said, "I gotta stop her"

Cordelia simply rolled her eyes and headed over to the bassinet, picking Connor up and heading upstairs to her bedroom, as Angel left the hotel

††††††††††

The apartment door burst open, as Angel and Gunn stepped inside. However, there was no sign of Darla, as they began searching the apartment

"She's gone out," Gunn said, standing before the dressing table

"Looks like she's expecting to see someone," Angel said, "Come on"

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Somewhere"

Angel drove them to a back alley pub where vampires and demons frequent. They entered the pub, not turning many heads. There were few inside that knew Angel and hid their faces away from him. Gunn looked around, as Angel headed off

"Angel, what I do when I find her?" Gunn asked

"Holler," Angel replied

He headed off, keeping to the shadows, before spying Darla and a vampire leaving their table, before heading outside. Angel followed them, removing a stake from his coat and ramming it into the vampire's heart as he was about to bite Darla

"What the hell are you doing, Angelus?" she demanded

"Saving you," he replied, putting his stake away

"I don't need your help, not anymore. I can't trust you to help me"

"Why are you so desperate to be turned, especially by a creep in an alley?"

"You were made in an alley, don't you remember? I pick the stupid ones, always the stupid ones"

"Darla, calm down and tell me what the hell is going on"

"I'm dying, Angelus. Not in five years, not in two, now. I'll be dead in two months"

"Yeah and how do you know that?"

"Lindsey showed me my medical reports," Darla answered, "I'm dying"

"Again, how do you know that?" Angel asked, "Lindsey works for Wolfram and Hart. For all we know, they could be spinning you around"

"Go ask himself yourself"

Darla turned to walk away, but Angel spun her around

"I'm not going to let you walk off again. I'm gonna help you, Darla, but it's not in the way you think. Trust me, I will find a way"

At that moment, Gunn came out into the alley, wiping vampire dust off his clothes as he looked at the pair

"Great, we found her. Now what? We kill her?"

"Come on, let's get going," Angel said, "I'm taking you back to the Hyperion"

"Yeah, wise idea," Gunn said, "Sure fire way to get Barbie to stake you"

"Darla needs help. I hope Cordelia understands that"

Angel crossed his fingers and silently prayed that Cordelia would

††††††††††


	9. The Trials

††††††††††

"Absolutely not," Cordelia said, "No way, Angel, it's not going to happen"

"Cordy, please, Darla needs help," Angel said, "I've got to find a way"

"What the hell is wrong with you? What has gotten into you?"

"I know and I'm sorry, but I promise I'll make it up to you"

Cordelia glared at Darla, before crossing her arms and looking back at Angel

"Fine," she said reluctantly, "But you _so_ owe me, mister"

"Thank you, Cordy. Just look after her. I've got to go out"

"With you going out all the time, I've barely seen you. Same with Connor"

"I'm sorry, but I will make it up to you"

Angel pulled Cordelia close to him and kissed her forehead, knowing that kissing her on the lips when she was mad at him would result in him being in pain. drawing back, he left the hotel, as Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia turned to Darla

"Uh, hi again," she said timidly

††††††††††

"Lindsey!"

His apartment door burst open, as Angel stood on the threshold, an angry look on his face. Lindsey looked up at him with a bored look, before turning back to his whiskey

"I know I can't do much, but I will stand here and taunt you," Angel said

"Wipe your feet. Come on in"

Angel was surprised, but entered the apartment, before slamming Lindsey against his private bar, spilling his whiskey on the floor

"What games are you playing with Darla?" Angel growled

"So she told you about her condition. I didn't believe it either, but it's true. You want a second opinion?" Lindsey asked, throwing a folder at Angel, before throwing another, "About a third, a fourth or even a tenth? She's dying"

"Syphilis," Angel said, reading Darla's medical report

"We're about four hundred years and two months too late," Lindsey said, "There's no saving her. Well, there is one way, but you're too gutless. You have the power, Angel"

"You're in love with her, I can tell," Angel said, "I turn her, how long will it take before she hunts you down and has you for breakfast. Come to think of it, that almost makes it worth it. But I'll find another way"

"You'll end up watching her die"

Angel ignored the lawyer as he stormed out of the apartment

††††††††††

"Well, what can I for you?" the Host asked, "Not looking too good, champ"

"I need help," Angel said

"You look like you do. Come, let's have a drink"

The Host and Angel headed to a private booth, where Angel told the Anagogic demon about his current problems involving Darla. The Host had a seabreeze, as he listened to Angel's story with interest

"Now she's dying and I'm trying to save her"

"Okay, you're trying to be the hero and save the damsel in distress. I get that, most men will do anything to help save a pretty lass. Don't know how this will affect your relationship with the seer, but it won't be good for a while"

"So, can you help me?" Angel asked

"Sure can, Angelwings. Go to this location here and take a dive into the pool"

The Host handed Angel an address and left the booth for the stage

††††††††††

"He told you to dive into a pool?" Darla asked later that night, "An empty pool?"

"Sure! Cause if you had water, you'd get wet and miss out on all that skull-crushing," Angel said

They were standing before a large, very empty pool

"Are you sure about this?" Darla asked

"Either I'm coming back with a cure…or you're gonna see something really funny"

Angel jumped off the diving board and disappeared through a sudden nexus point, appearing in a large underground room, as Darla appeared beside him and a man dressed in a suit appeared before him

"Ah, welcome to the Trials," Valet said, "I hope you know about the rules"

"I'm guessing if I win the trials, I get a prize," Angel said, "And I think you know why I'm here"

"Well then, sir, shall we get started? I'll need your shirt, coat, shoes and socks, if you will please"

Angel removed his clothing, leaving him in only his slacks, as a gate opened up. Angel slowly ventured through, as the gate closed and Valet folded up his clothes

"This should be quite interesting," he said to Darla

Angel's instincts went on high alert, as he dodged the demon's blade. Valet saw the move and took out a pocket watch, flicking it open with interest

"Seventeen seconds. A new record already"

Angel kicked the demon in the stomach and ducked the blade, before backhanding it. The demon struck him in the jaw and stabbed, but Angel deflected the blade, before driving his knee against the demon's wrist. Catching the sword, Angel sliced the demon in half and dropped the sword, before heading towards the gate. However, the demon was able to reattach its body parts together, grabbing a hooked chain and swinging at Angel. He dived under the chain and grabbed the sword, whirling around as the chain slammed into his jaw, knocking him down. Angel rolled to his feet and ducked the chain, before slicing the demon in half again. Grabbing the chain, Angel tied the demon's torso to one wall, before hanging its legs to the opposite side, as the gate opened up and Angel walked through

"Quite impressive so far," Valet commented with approval

The next trial was a corridor where the walls and floor were covered in crosses. A bowl was in the centre of the corridor, with a door at the end. Angel raced across the corridor, hissing as the crosses burned at his flesh. He cried out, falling down, his chest and hands now sizzling. Growling, Angel lunged for the door, but found it locked. He hurried over to the bowl, seeing a key and plunged his hand in. the holy water scorched his hand, as he hobbled back to the door and hurriedly unlocked it. As soon as he stepped through the door, Angel was held suspended mid-air by chains, as the wall opposite him was suddenly lined with hundreds of wooden stakes

"I'm sorry for any discomfort this may cause," Valet said, appearing, "I can't possibly imagine the pain"

"Let's swap places and you won't have to," Angel growled, "So, what's this?"

"The final part of the trial," Valet answered, "The acceptance of death. Accept your death and I will spare Darla. Refuse and you can walk away"

"What about Darla?"

"Oh, she dies"

"No deal. Come on, shoot the stakes"

"Are you sure? This woman can give you nothing. Do you really want to give up everything you have, including a child, for her?"

Angel didn't answer, as the stakes drew back

"Very well then," Valet said with acknowledgement, "A pity. You're my favourite"

The stakes fired towards Angel, but at the last second, he found himself dressed and in the entrance room with Valet and Darla

"Congratulations," Valet said, "You have passed the Trials. And now for your prize"

He placed his hands on either side of Darla's head and closed his eyes. However, after a moment of confusion on his face, Valet opened his eyes and stepped back

"Oh my. That's not good"

"What's wrong?" Darla asked

"You never said she was on her second life. Oh dear. I'm so sorry about this, but I cannot help you"

Valet disappeared, as with a roar, Angel began attacking the pillars in anger. The two guards went to stop him, but Angel took them down swiftly, before destroying everything in sight, his rage consuming him and he fell to his knees in despair

††††††††††

"I'm sorry it didn't work out," Angel said later that night

"At least it means something because you tried," Darla said, sitting on the bed

Angel sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him

"But this doesn't mean you're alone," Angel said to her, "I will be with you, every step of the way"

"Thanks. I think I'm ready for that"

Suddenly, her apartment room burst open, as heavily armed men entered. Angel rose up, as several tasers slammed into his torso and he was brought down. Lindsey and Lilah entered the room, as the former grabbed Angel by the hair and lifted his head

"How'd you think this was going to end?" he asked maliciously

Angel felt a small presence, as Drusilla entered the apartment, a smile on her face as she headed over to Darla, her face transforming. Darla stood transfixed, while Angel watched on helplessly as his childe bit his sire, draining her to the point of death, before cutting a line along her chest and bringing Darla's lips to the cut

††††††††††


	10. Reunion

††††††††††

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Angel winced as his ears rang. Cordelia was standing before him, hands on hips and a furious look on her face. She was seriously pissed off. Then again, he didn't blame her. Ever since Darla showed up, Angel had been neglecting her and their son

"Angel, is something wrong?" Wesley asked, noticing the look on Angel's face

"Apart from me seriously considering staking him, what else is there?" Cordelia asked

"They…took…turned her," Angel managed to say before he collapsed on the couch

Cordelia and Wesley both noticed that Angel was in pain and sat beside him

"What happened?" Cordelia asked gently

"Wolfram and Hart. They brought Drusilla in and she turned Darla"

"Darla is now a vampire?" Wesley asked

"Not yet. She's currently dead, but she'll rise in a few hours if we don't stop her"

"Yo, what'd I miss?" Gunn asked, coming into the hotel

"Angel's object of obsession got turned into a vampire," Cordelia said, "Again"

"Again? Can you explain that one to me? In English if you don't mind"

"Angel killed his sire, then she got resurrected into a human," Wesley explained, "Then Drusilla showed up and re-sired Darla"

"Who's Drusilla?"

"Angel's childe. He sired her"

"Okay, so the granddaughter sired the grandmother? That creeps me out more than the whole blood-sucking thing. Weird huh? So, where do we find her?"

"We're working on that right now," Angel said, "Wolfram and Hart took Darla away and left me there in her apartment, covering their tracks"

"Drusilla would be needing dirt, correct?" Cordelia asked, "To bury her"

"You don't need to bury a vampire to wait for them to rise," Wesley said

"Seeing as this is Drusilla, we'll make an exception," Angel said, "She'll place Darla somewhere she has a view. Darla always loved a view"

"And we'll file that away in the folder marked 'don't really care'," Cordelia said

"Start looking for places with a view that would have dirt," Angel said, "Gunn, you and me will hit the town and see what we can find about Drusilla's whereabouts. Let's get started on it, we don't have much time"

††††††††††

"Drusilla, you are positively glowing," Holland said with a smile

"I'm gonna be a mommy," Drusilla grinned

"Yes, yes you are"

He looked down at Darla's body lying on the dirt, dressed in a white loose dress. Lindsey was nearby, looking down at her, a small look of sadness upon his face

"At least this way, she gets to live"

"Come, let's go," Holland said to Lindsey and Lilah, "Drusilla has much to prepare for and I have a party to attend. You two are coming, right?"

"Of course," Lindsey said

"Wouldn't miss it," Lilah added

The three lawyers left, as Drusilla ran a finger lovingly along Darla's face

††††††††††

"Drusilla. Female vampire, real crazy, talks a lot about the stars," Angel said

The demon simply shook his head, as Angel let out a growl of frustration

"She must be keeping a low profile. Wolfram and Hart were containing her. Had to"

"What makes you say that?" Gunn asked, fingering his new axe, in which the blade had been made from a car rim. It had been a gift from the streetkids

"Because I know Drusilla. She likes to make an entrance, you know, dead bodies left, right and centre"

Just then, Angel's cell phone went off and he answered it

"There's a building that has a nursery on the rooftop," Wesley said, "That would be the perfect spot, as it has a view"

"Tell Angel to kill Darla and Drusilla and haul his ass back here," came Cordelia's voice, as Connor started crying, "Oh baby, come to Mommy"

"I'll give you the address," Wesley said, "And Angel, do be careful"

"Got it, thanks," Angel said once he had the address, "Gunn, head back to the hotel"

"You sure about that. You're gonna take on two powerful vamps alone?"

"I had to. I'll take it from here. Just go"

"Okay man, see you later"

Gunn headed off, as Angel got into the Plymouth and drove off

††††††††††

"You think Angel will be okay?" Wesley asked

"He damn well should be," Cordelia said, "Until I get my hands on him. I've got some serious Angel-killing to do. He owes me a lot"

Wesley played the rattle over Connor's head, as the baby tried to reach for it. He then switched to a teddy bear and played that before Connor, as Cordelia continued

"I mean, he's a business to run, a son to look after, me to look after and what does he do? What does he throw it all away for? Darla! A woman lost from his past"

"I'm sure Angel has his reason," Wesley said

"Well, they better be damn good reasons. He has much to explain for himself"

"Don't worry, Cordy. Once Angel takes care of Darla and Drusilla, he'll be back and soon, it'll be like it never happened"

"I hope you're right, Wes. I don't want to lose him"

††††††††††

Angel entered the nursery, seeing no one in sight and crept over to the open coffin that was filled to the top with dirt. He pushed some aside, revealing Darla's face, as he withdrew a large wooden stake from his coat and raised it over her heart

"I hope you can forgive me for this"

Just as he was about to stake Darla's comatose body, something slammed into his back, dropping him to his knees. Angel cried out, loosing hold of the stake, as he faced Drusilla, who was holding a shovel in her hands, resting it at her feet

"Bad daddy. No killing Grandmother"

"Dru, you know I will kill you," Angel said, slowly rising up

"The pixies in my head spoke to me," Drusilla continued, ignoring Angel, "They told me to come here into the 20th century"

"It's the 21st century, Dru"

"Oh, I'm lagging"

CLANG!

Angel's head reeled back from the blow, as Drusilla swung the shovel again. He ducked and dodged the next two swings, as the third sent him flying onto the workbench. Drusilla was slamming the shovel against the bench, trying to hit Angel's head, but he rolled off the bench and blocked her next swing, before punching her in the face. Drusilla stumbled, growling as she snapped the wooden handle and stabbed with her stake. Grabbing her wrist, Angel punched, then backhanded her, before doing a spinning back kick that threw her across the nursery

Drusilla grabbed a large pair of gardening shears and lunged at Angel, aiming for his throat. He threw her aside, but cried out when the shears landed in his thigh. Drusilla smirked, punching Angel twice, before slamming her head against his. He fell back against the coffin, as Drusilla grabbed him and threw him into a shelf. Angel crumbled to the ground, throwing a small gardening fork into Drusilla's torso. She cried out in pain, ripping the fork away, her face transforming in pain

Angel swiftly got to his feet and struck his childe, as she stabbed the fork into his gut. Punching her again, Angel kicked her against the wall and threw the fork aside, before grabbing his stake. Drusilla lunged at him, throwing him down, but he rolled to his feet, blocking Drusilla's punch and ducking under her arm, before tripping her up so she landed on her back. Turning back to the coffin, Angel raised the stake, but lowered it upon seeing that Darla wasn't lying in the dirt anymore

"Look who's woken up from her sleep," Drusilla cackled

Angel whirled around, looking into the feral yellow eyes of Darla as she struck him, throwing him over the coffin and slamming into the wall

"Ooh, Grandmommy's awake now," Drusilla giggled whilst clapping her hands

††††††††††


	11. Darla & Drusilla

††††††††††

Angel groaned and rubbed the back of his head. He slowly got to his feet, as Darla's features shifted back to human and she lunged at him. He dodged her by diving over the coffin, only to get the face of the shovel slamming into his chest. Growling, Angel wrapped his arm around Drusilla's arm and cracked her in the jaw with his elbow, before throwing her across the nursery. Angel whirled around, as Darla lunged at him. He kicked her in the stomach, but she growled in anger, striking him on the chin. Angel rolled backwards onto his feet, blocking Darla's two punches, as her third strike landed on his jaw

Angel ducked the next swing and struck her, as Drusilla ran in with the sharp end of the shovelhead. Angel turned and kicked her back, as Darla grabbed Angel by his duster and launched into the air, slamming him into the ceiling, then landing and throwing him across the nursery again

"Grandmother!" Drusilla cried

Darla struck her down, as Angel got to his feet, letting out a growl and striding towards Darla with determination. She blocked his punch and struck him rapidly, before leaping across the nursery with him and smashing through the glass window. Angel rolled onto his hands and knees, as Darla kicked him in the face, throwing him onto his back. Drusilla stepped out of the nursery, as Darla grabbed her by the arm and stood on the building edge. She looked back at Angel, before jumping off the edge. Angel got to his feet and hurried over to the edge, unable to see Darla or Drusilla anywhere on the street below

††††††††††

"Grandmother, what is the matter?" Drusilla asked

She was thrown against a car, as Darla grabbed her in a fury and lifted her to her feet with ease, before slamming her against a car bonnet. By now, Drusilla had small tears in her eyes, as Darla growled at her, before regaining her senses

"Did I do something wrong?" Drusilla cried

Darla picked her up gently and held her close, trying to soothe her, as the driver of the car got out with an angry look

"You two lovebirds gonna go for it in the street or what?" he demanded

Darla growled and headed towards the man, her face changing. Once she killed him, she turned to Drusilla in her human face, a large smile on her face

"Come, Drusilla, let's have some fun"

Drusilla chuckled, as the pair headed off with their arms around each other

††††††††††

"Lindsey, everything alright?" Holland asked

"Oh he's just worried about his little crush," Lilah said, dressed in an elegant outfit

"Crush? What crush?"

"Never mind," Lindsey said, getting to his feet, "Shall we get going?"

CRASH!

The office window shattered, as Angel came flying into the room

"Ah, Angel, I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting one another," Holland said, "I'm Holland Manners and-"

"I don't care who you are," Angel growled, "I should kill you for what you've done"

"You probably can, but you won't. You don't kill humans," Holland said

"You don't qualify. You set things in motion, play your little games up here in your glass and chrome tower, and people die. Innocent people"

"And yet I just can't seem to care. But you do. And while you're making threats, wasting time, crashing through windows, your girls are out painting the town red, red, red. Now, if you don't mind, I have a party to attend to. Oh and you're not invited"

Holland smiled as he left the office, followed by Lindsey and Lilah, as a few security guards arrived. Angel took his frustration out on them and left the building

††††††††††

"Ooh, I like this one," Darla grinned, holding up a shirt, "Wonder if I can try it on. Excuse me, miss, can you help me"

The store clerk was trying to crawl away, blood dripping from the bite marks on her throat. Sighing, Darla headed over and promptly snapped her neck, as Drusilla picked out a large hat and put it on

"Oh, I like this. Listen, I'm ringing all over"

Darla simply pulled out the ringing cell phone from Drusilla's shirt

"I forgot I had that"

"Holland Manners, what can I do for you?" Darla asked

"Darla, good to hear you're up and about," Holland smiled, "How would you like to have some fun? Go ahead and have yourselves a massacre. You didn't hear it from me"

"Of course, Holland, thank you"

Darla snapped the phone shut and grinned at her companion, before heading off

††††††††††

Angel arrived at the shopping centre a while later, discreetly entering the clothing store and breathing in the scent of his two girls. They were here, evident by the several bodies lying around. However, any more searching Angel was about to perform was halted by Kate Lockley

"Angel, you're coming with me," she said

"Fine then," he said, holding up his hands, "I give in"

Angel allowed himself to be handcuffed and taken to Kate's car, as she joined him in the backseat, chaining his hands to the grate that separated the front and back seats

"Vampires, isn't it?" Kate asked, "Two of them"

"Yeah"

"And you know them well. At least this Darla anyway"

"Yeah"

"I can't stop them. I know they're too strong for me. And I know you're the only one who can stop them. So, I'm gonna let you go. Driver"

The car pulled over, as Kate released Angel and let him out of the car

††††††††††

Holland was having a good time entertaining his guests in his wine room. The guests were mostly made up of fellow lawyers, including Lindsey and Lilah. Holland was moving about, refilling everyone's' glasses, when he looked up and saw Darla and Drusilla in the doorway, the latter having a small trail of blood on her lips

"Darla. Drusilla. How'd you get in?" Holland asked

"Your darling wife," Darla smiled

"Tasted like clover," Drusilla added, licking the blood

"Now, Holland, I believe you said something about a massacre?"

Darla and Drusilla promptly vamped out and moved towards the lawyers. However, Drusilla stopped and turned around, a small smile on her face

"Daddy's home"

Angel arrived in the room, having been invited in by Caroline Manners. He stood in the doorway, viewing the lawyers and the female vampires

"Angel, you've come to help us?" Holland said, "You will save us?"

"Please, help us, Angel," Lilah added

"People are going to die," Holland continued

"And yet, I just can't seem to care"

Holland watched in horror as Angel closed the doors and locked it from the outside, as Darla leaned in and bit him on the throat, while Drusilla did the same to another lawyer. Angel walked away, oblivious to the agonised cries of the lawyers

††††††††††

"I can't believe you did that," Wesley cried later that night, "Angel, what you did was cold and callous. They didn't deserve to die like that"

Angel didn't reply, so Cordelia tried

"What's gotten into you? Sure those lawyers were evil, but locking them in that room with Darla and Drusilla was just as bad"

"You went a little too far this time," Gunn added in

"We're the only barrier between you and darkness," Wesley said

Angel's eyes travelled over his friends, before gazing at Connor, who was sitting on Cordelia's lap, clutching a small teddy bear. What he had to do next was hurting him inside, but he had to remain strong in order to do this

"You're all fired"

And then with swift movement, Angel left his stunned friends behind

††††††††††


	12. Redefinition

††††††††††

"Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?" Cordelia demanded

She was standing on the walkpath, Connor in one hand and a box of her belongings in the other, while Gunn and Wesley were before her, looks of sadness on their faces

"We were axed," Wesley said

"Fired," Gunn added

"Let go"

"Given the boot"

"Canned"

"Kicked out"

"I know that. But what was that all about?" Cordelia asked

"You were the closest to him," Wesley said, "Was there any signs prior to this?"

"As nice it is to stand here and chat, I gotta go," Gunn said, "Can't be seen with you guys. Got a rep to maintain"

"Oh heaven's forfend," Cordelia said

Gunn headed off, as Wesley turned to Cordelia

"You can stay with me. Come on, let's go"

Wesley grabbed Cordelia's box so she could take Connor with both hands

††††††††††

_"Darla. My sire. Drusilla. My childe. My links to my past. Dangerous separate and utterly lethal together. It's my job to destroy them. To protect the innocent. To protect those who I care about. They can't be a part of this. I don't want them in any danger. That's my reason. Their safety matters more to me than my own"_

Angel was down in the basement, going through some training in a white singlet and black slacks. He practiced his melee combat on the punching bag, knocking it off its chain with a powerful kick, before grabbing a sword and practicing some moves, slicing the blade through the air, before moving onto his throwing abilities and dual weapons. Embedding the sword into the dummy, Angel stepped back with a sigh

_"I'm ready"_

††††††††††

Lindsey opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive. However, that brought him back to reality as he realized he was lying under a pile of bodies. Slowly getting to his feet, Lindsey surveyed the body-littered room

"She spared me," Lindsey said to himself with a small smile

He heard a groan and looked around, as Lilah got to her feet, lawyers' blood splattered on her body. Lindsey let out a groan of disappointment. Darla and Drusilla had spared him, which was great, but they also spared Lilah, which was not so great

"Oh damn, you're alive," Lilah said

"Right back at you," Lindsey said, "Are we the only two left?"

"From the looks of things, I'd say yeah"

"Call the office. Tell them to get the cleaners here. The Senior Partners are not going to be pleased when they hear about this"

"Now I wish I had been killed by Darla and Drusilla," Lilah said

"If only," Lindsey muttered

††††††††††

_"Darla and Drusilla are two of the most dangerous and powerful vampires around. I know Darla. She is cunning and will use anything to get to me. I know I am her target. It's for the best that Cordelia and Connor aren't around me. They need to be safe. By getting rid of them, I am protecting them. Darla won't go for them. She'll go for me"_

A group of four vampires were chatting amongst themselves as they made their way through the sewers, heading to their usual hunting ground in search of a meal. However, they stepped out into a large room, coming face to face with Angel

_"This will do"_

One of the vampires growled and lunged at Angel, swinging his leg. Angel ducked under the kick and struck one vampire, before turning to the first vampire and backhanding him. Angel then booted a third vampire in the chest, as the fourth struck him across the face. Angel blocked his next punch and kneed him in the stomach, before whirling around and grabbing a vampire's arm, elbowing him in the face and flipping him onto his back. Angel then slammed his elbow onto the winded vampire's back, dropping him into his hands and knees, and then kicking him into a pillar

A vampire kicked Angel in the back, as he blocked another vampire's punch and withdrew a stake, reducing the vamp to dust. Turning around, Angel ducked the vampire's fist and delivered two swift strikes to his torso, then ramming the stake into his heart. A vampire punched Angel, then grabbed him by the coat and ran him towards the pillar. However, Angel ran up the pillar and flipped over the vampire, staking him through the back. The last vampire started to back away, as Angel advanced on him, blocking his punch and breaking his arm, dropping him to the ground. The vampire tried to crawl away, but Angel withdrew a small sword and decapitated him. Once the battle was done, Angel headed back into the sewers

_"It's time to end this"_

††††††††††

The crowd cheered as the bloody battle continued. In the end, the vampire was reduced to dust, as the demon waved to the crowd in victory

"What wonderful skill…for an animal"

The demons whirled around, as Darla and Drusilla walked into the circle

"You have power, but you lack direction"

"Get out of my face, whore, before I break yours," the demon growled

"Try me, big boy," Darla offered

The demon growled and swung his fist. He had expected to pummel Darla into the ground with ease. He didn't expect to be kneeling on the ground, clutching his broken arm in agony, as Darla surveyed the crowd as if nothing had happened

"You are all animals, full of power, but no direction. However, I am willing to help you find your drive and become an army"

"What are you talking about?" another vampire asked

"I wish to build an army to strike down Wolfram and Hart," Darla replied, "They have fucked me around way too much. I had some small revenge against them, but I want more. I want to bring the entire firm crashing down and as a result, Dru and I will own Los Angeles"

"Best of luck with that," the demon with the broken arm wheezed

Drusilla walked up to the demon and simply snapped his neck, before giggling

"Tomorrow night, Dru and I will hold tryouts here. Those who win will join us. Those who don't survive, well bad luck. Think about it, boys. You're looking at the new power here in town"

Suddenly, Darla felt a small presence and looked around the demonic crowd frantically, but couldn't see him anywhere. Meanwhile, Angel was leaning against a post outside, lowering his hood and resuming his human face. He let out a sigh and headed off into the night

_"I'm not ready"_

††††††††††

Cordelia was fast asleep on the sofa bed, Connor sleeping in a cot beside her. She was staying at Wesley's apartment while she tried to figure out what to do now that Angel had fired her and didn't want her around anymore. She had spent the last few hours sitting on the couch, staring off into space, lost in her thoughts. Wesley decided to talk to her tomorrow when she had rested and headed off to bed. After spending another hour of wondering why Angel fired her, Cordelia put her son to bed, before retiring to the sofa not long after. She was so fast asleep; she didn't hear the apartment door slowly open and close. Angel stood in the living room, staring at her and their son, before heading over to the cot and looking down at his son sleeping peacefully. He then knelt before Cordelia, breathing in her scent and noting the slightly pained look on her face as she slept, feeling some guilt for causing her this pain

"I'm so sorry for this, but I had to do it, Cordelia. I hope that in the end, you'll understand. It's not because I don't want you around. It's because I love you and want to protect you. You're better off not being in the way, where Darla can get you. I don't want our son to get caught in the crossfire between me and Wolfram and Hart. This way, you're safe from harm. I love you, Cordelia"

"Angel?" she asked sleepily, slowly opening her eyes, but he was long gone, "Hm, just a stupid dream"

She did a quick check on her son, before falling asleep again, as Angel watched them from the living room window

††††††††††


	13. Party Crasher

††††††††††

"You know, I think we should continue the mission," Cordelia said

"Excuse me?" Wesley asked, looking up from the paper

"The mission. The one that Angel started. We should continue it"

"There is no mission without Angel. What can we do without him?"

"Got a point, but we've got to try, Wes. What else are we gonna do?"

"I have a suggestion"

††††††††††

Wesley and Cordelia arrived at Caritas, seeking out the Host, but came across Gunn instead. He was also seeking out the Host

"Funny how it seems we all end up here," Wesley said

"Are you gonna sing?" Cordelia asked Gunn

"Me sing? In front of you? What's wrong with you?"

"Looks like it'll be a while before we sing," Wesley commented, looking at the stage, before looking at his watch, "But the night is young. What time did you tell Piper we'd be home?"

"Uh, about nine," Cordelia replied, "Come on"

She took a seat at a nearby, as Wesley and Gunn joined her, before ordering drinks

"I can't believe it happened," Cordelia said, sipping her vodka, "I can't believe he actually did that. Especially to me"

"Well, I for one surely wasn't expecting it," Wesley said, "It seems hopeless without him"

"If you listen to me for a moment, we can work something out"

"Oh boy, this should be interesting," Gunn said, "You two can't work anything out. All you do is bicker, bicker, bicker. I'd say you got lucky. Me, I'd just kill you both"

"That's rich, coming from you, Mr-I-don't-take-orders-now-where-do-I-stick-my-axe," Cordelia said

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"How is a man supposed to run a business if employees won't follow his directives?" Wesley asked with a smirk

"Was one of his directives 'hire pansy-ass British guys'?"

"My arse is not pansy!"

"What can I get you kids?" the Host asked, appearing beside them

"More drinks," Cordelia replied quickly

The Host chuckled and headed off, as the trio started arguing amongst themselves, fuelled by their alcohol intake, escalating their arguments. However, five minutes later, the trio were onstage, singing 'We Are The Champions', finishing off with a small hug amongst themselves

"Boy, they're really down," the Host commented after watching them

††††††††††

Angel woke up and got changed, before heading downstairs to the basement. He had a lot of work to do tonight. Darla and Drusilla were holding tryouts in order to create a demonic army so they could lay waste to Wolfram and Hart. Angel knew he had to stop that, simply because he had to and also because he wanted to destroy Wolfram and Hart. Grabbing a large canvas bag, Angel started packing his weapons into it, including axes, swords and stakes, then zipping the bag up and heading off into the night, grabbing a broadsword on the way out

††††††††††

Lindsey entered the office, noticing that everyone was casting him suspicious looks. Not that he blamed them. He was the sole survivor of a vampire attack in which Holland Manners was killed. Then again, he didn't really care what they thought

"Ah, Lindsey, just the man I was looking for," Nathan Reed said

Lindsey sighed and turned around to face the boss, who also had Lilah with him

"A word with you please. In my office"

Lindsey glanced at Lilah, who shrugged and followed Nathan to his office, where he sat behind his desk and offered them a chair each

"As you may know, the Senior Partners are not pleased with Holland's death," Nathan said, "He contributed a lot to this firm and it is a damn shame to see him go like that"

"What are they planning to do about us?" Lilah asked, "Just so we know"

"The Partners are deciding what to do with you. In the meanwhile, we have Holland's position left open. Only one can take that position. Both of you have shown exceptional skill in the field. So, the only decision we can make here until a proper decision can be made is that both of you will be co-vice president of special projects"

"Both of us?" Lindsey asked in disbelief

"Co-vice presidents?" Lilah added, also in disbelief

"Yes. The Partners believe that will be best until they make a better decision about you two, considering Holland died and you two didn't. But, we must move on. I'm sure you two will be able to work just as well together," Nathan said, "That'll be all"

Lindsey and Lilah left the office, before glaring at each other

"We both know what the Partners will do," Lilah said, "They will sack one of us so the other has the job. And I mean literal sacks. I'm getting that job"

"Yeah, cause we'd hate to see what the Partners will do with your pretty head," Lindsey said, before heading off, "Probably use it for golf in their dimension"

"Jerk," Lilah muttered behind his back

††††††††††

"Oh, I don't feel so good," Cordelia groaned, "Where's Connor?"

"He's with Piper," Wesley answered, also as sick as Cordelia, "Which is for the best. I don't think he needs to hear his mother throwing up every five minutes"

"You're gross, you know that? Okay, I'm good now"

Cordelia wiped her face and washed her mouth out, before heading into the living room and grabbing the paper, flicking through it to the housing section

"What are you looking for?" Wesley asked, making himself some green tea

"Small shops. We can't exactly run our business from here"

"Did you talk to the Host last night?"

"I think so. I only remember bits and pieces. I think he said something about business, but I'm not sure what he said"

"At least you remember, though I think I threw up on his shirt"

"Oh nice one, Wes. What a way to go"

"I think I did apologise a lot throughout the night"

"From now on, we're never getting drunk again. Ooh, here's something"

††††††††††

_Previous night…_

"Nearly time," Darla said, "Time to go, Dru"

Drusilla dropped her dead victim and followed after Darla as they headed back to the rendezvous point at the warehouse

"Wolfram and Hart will pay for what they've done," Darla said, "Then again, I should thank them, otherwise I wouldn't be here"

"The sounds of battle. I smell blood. It's everywhere," Drusilla said, her eyes closed

"Are you having a vision or just imaging things?"

"The little fairies are all soaked in blood, showing me the way"

"Yeah, whatever. Come along, Dru, we're almost there"

Darla and Drusilla reached the warehouse and opened up the roller door. However, what they saw was not what they expected. Demonic body parts and vampire dust littered the warehouse, soaked in blood and surrounded by blood-splattered weapons

"Dead already? Bad soldiers," Drusilla chastised

Darla was drawn to the cause of her army's deaths. Angel was sitting on a car, bruises and blood covering his body, as he smoked a cigarette while glaring at the pair

"Angel?" Darla asked

No response, so she tried something else

"Angelus?"

Angel still didn't reply. He blew out a smoke ring and threw the cigarette onto the ground, lighting up the trail of fuel. Flames raced along the floor of the warehouse and before Darla and Drusilla do anything, they were engulfed in flames. With no emotion on his face, Angel got up and left, as the vampires raced outside, screaming in pain. Darla grabbed a sledgehammer on the way out and smashed open a fire hydrant, bathing under the water, washing the flames away. Drusilla was crying in pain, as Darla held her close, sitting under the fountain of water

"Who was that?" she asked, "It wasn't Angel. It wasn't Angelus. Who was he?"

††††††††††


	14. Just A Name

††††††††††

"This looks like a good place," Wesley said, "Small, but it's cheap"

"We'll take it," Cordelia said to the real estate agent

Once the forms had been filled out, Cordelia and Wesley headed back to his apartment and start taking things that they would need in the office, mostly demonology books, as the office already had a desk and bookcase. Soon, they had the office all ready within a couple of hours, as Gunn arrived

"Not bad place. So, what are we gonna call ourselves?"

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked

"Well, we used to be Angel Investigations, but we have no Angel. I suggest we change our name and there's no other name that strikes fear other than mine"

"Gunn? Oh yeah, how original. I've got a gun and my name is Gunn"

"Well, we could always go with the Wyndam-Pryce Agency," Wesley suggested

"How about…no?" Cordelia said, "I'll let you boys bicker about it. I'm getting my boy"

She left the office, before driving over to Piper's apartment to pick up Connor

"Hi Cordy," Piper said, "I think Connor is trying to crawl"

"Is he? Where is he? Come to Mommy," Cordelia said

Connor smiled and tried to make his way over to his mother, but wasn't able to get far despite his attempt. With a proud smile, Cordelia headed over and picked him up, pressing a kiss to his cheek

"My little boy. All growing up," she cooed, "Thanks, Pipe, I'll catch you around"

††††††††††

After a tense day at work, Lilah was heading back to her car, eager to head home quickly and have a nice, hot shower. First, she had to deal with something first

"Wow, Lilah, co-vice president," Angel grinned from the backseat, "Congratulations. You know, the fact that I somewhat contributed to it for you. Makes me feel all special inside"

"What do you want, Angel?" Lilah asked coolly

"Well, I did want a 'thank-you Angel for all your help', but I think we can skip past that and get down to the threats and so forth. From now on, all you're gonna see is me. I'm gonna bring your office down around your head"

"Good luck with that. Let me know how well that goes"

"Oh, don't you worry about that. You'll see. Everything that matters to you will be destroyed. And your pretty little head? Think I might play golf with it"

Before Lilah could answer back, Angel was gone from her car faster than she could blink. Unconsciously raising a hand to her throat, Lilah started her car and drove off

††††††††††

Lindsey arrived back at his new apartment, having left his old one in order to avoid Angel. He threw his briefcase onto the table, before placing his coat and tie on the chair, then placing a paper bag on the coffee table

"Sorry I'm late. Meeting was rough. I got you something"

Darla removed the bottle of blood from the bag, opening it and taking a sniff

"It's cold. At least it's human"

"I'm going for a shower"

"You always do when you come back from there. You're never dirty"

"I'm always dirty," Lindsey muttered, unbuttoning his shirt

Darla rolled her eyes as Lindsey headed into the bathroom. Once she heard the shower running, she got up from the sofa and headed to the briefcase, rummaging through Lindsey's files while drinking the blood. Following the incident with Angel, Darla had gone underground with Drusilla, who left once she had healed. Then Lindsey found her, directed by Drusilla, and took her in, looking after her, despite the death warrant issued on her head from Wolfram and Hart. She was going through the files, trying to find something she could use against Wolfram and Hart, finding something in the form of a review due in a few weeks from a Senior Partner. With a small, amused smile, Darla started reading the file

††††††††††

"Uh, hello?" the woman asked

"Hello there," Wesley replied, "How can I help you?"

"It's my daughter," the woman replied, bringing her daughter forth, "I'm told that you people specialise in strange cases"

"That we do," Gunn said, "So, what's the problem?"

The girl removed her baseball cap and turned around, as Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia clamoured around to get a better look. There was a third eye poking out the back of her head, with a round blue iris and red veins. Wesley moved a finger back and forth before the eye, watching as it followed his finger

"How did this happen?" Cordelia asked

"Stephanie doesn't know," the woman replied, "Something grabbed her on her way to swimming class. When she woke up, she had…that. Can you make it go away?"

"Sure, it won't be a problem," Wesley answered, grabbing a book, "Don't worry, ma'am, within a few days, it'll be all over"

"Thank you. Come on, Stephanie"

The young girl followed her mother out of the office, as the trio turned to each other

"Finally, we've got a case," Cordelia grinned, "This is great!"

"Yes well, first off, we find out the origin of that eye," Wesley said, "Then, once it's been taken care of, I suggest we have a small celebration"

"I like your thinking," Gunn agreed, grabbing a book as well

††††††††††

Ducking Boone's fist, Angel slammed his into the demon's ribs, only to score a steel-encased fist to the jaw. Stumbling back, Angel blocked his kick and punched him in the face, followed up by a second punch, then dropping and doing a sweep. Boone jumped over Angel's leg, before booting him in the chest. Angel flipped back onto his feet, doing a roundhouse kick on Boone's face

Boone was an old rival of Angel's, having last fought each other in Mexico in the 1920's. They never saw each other again until recently, when Angel enlisted Boone's help in playing a prank on Wolfram and Hart, mainly Lindsey and Lilah

They had been holding a charity event for a homeless shelter, but Angel found out that they had planned to swipe about two millions dollars from the event, leaving the shelter with not much to work with. Angel had told Lindsey that he had stolen a tape recording Wolfram and Hart's plans, using the owner of the shelter, Anne Steele, to play the tape while Angel and Boone distracted the lawyers with their fighting. It was very funny to Angel to see Lindsey and Lilah get all riled up over the tape, which turned out to be Cordelia's acting auditions and Wesley's strange dances. Although Anne had gotten angry with him for using her, he didn't care and headed back to the Hyperion, meeting Boone there, who had stolen the two million dollars and wanted to settle the score once and for all

Blocking Boone's fist and punching him in the jaw, Angel then flicked a stake out of his sleeve and stabbed it into Boone's throat. Upon removing the stake, blood sprayed onto the bag of money, as Angel put the stake away. He let out a sigh, before dragging Boone's body to the car, then grabbing the money to give to Anne

††††††††††

Cordelia was pacing in the small office, rocking Connor to sleep, while Wesley was going through the books, having getting a hit on the Skilosh case and was now cross referencing things in order to find an antidote. Gunn was busy playing his Gameboy against the wall, when the bell jingled and a middle-aged man walked in. Immediately, all three headed towards him, as Cordelia placed her son in the bassinet

"Hello, how can we help you?" Wesley asked

"This is Angel Investigations, right?" the man asked

"You've come to the right place," Cordelia replied, "We help the hopeless"

"I was wondering if I could see Angel?"

Wesley looked at his friends, before turning back to the man. They had agreed on this earlier, as it simply was now Angel Investigations. There was no Angel with them

"It's just a name," he said

††††††††††


	15. The Thin Dead Line

††††††††††

The two teenagers were running for their lives, trying their best to avoid the threat that pursued them. in the end, they arrived at a homeless shelter and rapped on the door

"It's past curfew," Anne Steele said after answering the door

"Please, Anne, let us in," the boy asked, "Don't leave us out here"

"But there's no beds"

"We'll sleep on the floor, we don't care"

Anne noticed that they were constantly looking over their shoulders and had a very frightened look on their faces

"Okay, come in then"

The teenagers thanked her and walked in, as Anne looked out into the night, before closing the door behind her

††††††††††

"There we go. All better now," Wesley said, fixing the cap on Stephanie's head

"Thank you," Mrs. Sharp said, "But I'm afraid I cannot pay you"

"Why not?" Cordelia asked

"This bill is ridiculous. And my husband says it's impossible for a third eye to grow out of the back of her skull. Good day"

She then took her daughter and left the office, leaving the trio in shock

"What a bitch," Cordelia said, "We just stopped a Skilosh demon from hatching her daughter's skull. What nerve"

"It'll be okay, Cordy," Wesley said, "Hopefully, the Sharps will come around"

Cordelia sighed and headed back to her desk, slowly rocking Connor as he sucked on a plush bunny. A toy that Angel had gotten his son before abandoning them. Cordelia still felt sadness at that, as well as anger at Angel for firing her and abandoning their son, but she knew she had to be strong for Connor in order to forget about Angel

The bell jingled, as Anne came into the office. Gunn saw her, a grin breaking out on his face as he abandoned his game and gave her a hug

"Anne, it's been a long time"

"Same with you, Charles. I see you're doing well," Anne said, "Angel Investigations, huh? Wasn't there a guy named Angel. You mentioned him once, Charles"

"He used to be a part of this group," Wesley said, "Did you see him recently?"

"Yeah, the other day actually. He tried to help me out with my shelter"

At this, Cordelia looked up from her son to look at Anne. Angel tried to help someone

"But it was just a scam to get at these lawyers from Wolfram and Hart"

Rolling her eyes, Cordelia turned back to Connor

"So, what can I help you with?" Gunn asked after a moment

"I need your help," Anne said, "I've got a bunch of kids who are too scared to go out at night. They say they're being harassed by cops for doing nothing"

"That sounds a little strange," Wesley said, "We'll come with you and ask some of the kids what they've been seeing"

"Sure. You can come around now if you want," Anne offered

"Very well then, let's go"

††††††††††

Night had fallen and Angel was standing outside the shelter, watching as his former friends interviewed the children, gathering information on 'rogue cops'. He did feel a little bad for what he had done to them, but his mission with Wolfram and Hart was not over yet. He had promised Lilah that he would destroy the firm. Shaking his head, Angel tucked his hands into his pockets and turned to walk away

"Stop right there," called a voice, "Place your hands against the wall"

Angel sighed and faced the police officer, who had started withdrawing his baton

"What did I do, officer?" he asked

"Place your hands against the wall, now"

Angel complied, as the officer started to place the handcuffs on him. However, Angel twisted and kicked the officer in the head, knocking him back against his car. But the police officer got to his feet and drew his handgun, which Angel kicked out of his hand, followed by a punch to the jaw, something which would knock a human out. Not this one. He still got up, talking about getting a lawyer for Angel, who beat him down, before doing a spin kick that decapitated the officer. Angel glared at the head, as it continued talking, before shrinking into a rotten head and expiring, as Angel grabbed the badge from the chest and headed off into the night

††††††††††

"Hi, Kate"

She looked up from her paperwork to see Angel sitting before her

"Angel. What are you doing here?" she asked somewhat coldly

"I don't think this is right, but I killed a cop"

"No matter how immortal you are, don't say that here"

"However, this cop continued talking long after I removed his head"

Angel then tossed the badge onto her desk, as she tossed a folder onto his lap

"Ask me why I should help you?" Kate demanded

Angel opened the folder to reveal photographs of a crime scene, showing blood-splattered bodies lying around in a wine cellar. He knew what she was talking about

"Those people were locked in that room from the outside. I released you three hours prior to this and I know what killed those people. I sent you after them"

"They had it coming," Angel replied coldly, "Look up the badge number"

Kate glared at the vampire, before reluctantly typing the badge number into her computer, getting a result. However, the owner of the badge had been dead for six months, causing her to frown as she looked between the badge and the screen

"Where do you bury the fallen?" Angel asked, "We'll take a little walk"

††††††††††

"What are you doing?" Anne asked

"We're gonna catch these guys in the act," Gunn replied, "We'll head out, find some cops, wait for them to hassle us and record it all"

"How do you know the cops will find you?"

"Cause we'll be the ones walking while black"

Gunn left the shelter with two of his friends, as Anne shook her head and continued looking after the children in the shelter, as Cordelia and Wesley helped out

"Where did Gunn go?" Cordelia asked

"Gone to do something stupid," Anne replied, "He's going to videotape cops busting up his ass. Good luck to him"

"I'll go get him," Wesley offered, "See if I can prevent him getting killed"

"Good luck with that," Cordelia said, tending to Connor

††††††††††

"This place will do," Gunn said, "Bad neighbourhood. Cops rarely go here"

"You think will work?" George asked

"If you're scared, you can run back to the shelter," Gunn said, "Yeah, I'm sure it'll work"

As if on cue, rattling could hear, as a baton was being dragged along a fence. Gunn and his friends turned around to see a police officer coming towards them

"Put your hands against the wall," the officer ordered

"Okay, officer, first off, I think I'm entitled to know what I did wrong," Gunn said, checking on Rondell to see him recording

"I said, hands against the wall," the officer warned

"I haven't done anything wrong except walking out here," Gunn said, "Which last time I checked, wasn't a crime"

"I won't ask again. Hands against the wall"

"Officer, wait, he's with me," came Wesley's voice

Gunn looked past the officer to see Wesley running towards them. Then everything went dire and happened very quickly. Before Gunn or his friends could do anything, in one swift motion, the officer drew his handgun, whirled around, aimed Wesley up and fired a single round into his abdomen. Blood instantly soaked Wesley's shirt, as he collapsed on the ground

"WES!" Gunn cried

††††††††††


	16. Shot in the Gut

††††††††††

The police officer turned away, but Gunn was on him in a flash, wrestling the gun from his hand and punching him. George grabbed the gun and fired twice when Gunn kicked the officer back. He went down, as Gunn rushed to Wesley's side, his face pale

"Wes, hold on man. Come on, help me"

Rondell and Gunn supported Wesley, lifting him up gently, as George dropped the gun in shock

"I killed a cop," he said

Suddenly, the officer sat up, causing everyone to freak out

"Don't look dead to me," Gunn said, "Let's go"

He and Rondell hobbled off with Wesley, George out in front as lookout, as the officer spoke into his UHF, calling for back up, then getting to his feet and following after the small group, as they rounded a corner and ducked behind a fence to hide

"Rondell, call the ambulance," Gunn said, "George, go on lookout. Hold on, Wes"

††††††††††

Angel and Kate arrived at the cemetery and went to the grave of the officer that Angel had killed

"The grave's been disturbed recently," Angel said

"How can you tell?" Kate asked, looking at the ground as it didn't look disturbed

"I'm a vampire"

"Does that mean…oh god…Daddy!"

Kate rushed over to her father's grave with Angel close behind her

"Is he?"

"The grave hasn't been touched"

"You sure?"

"Yes"

Kate knelt before her father's grave, as silent tears ran down her face

"These officers are from the same precent. We should get going"

Kate got up from the grave and followed Angel out of the cemetery

††††††††††

"Ambo's here," George called, "Let's go"

Rondell and Gunn helped Wesley to the ambulance as the paramedics took him

"Alright you two, get out of here," Gunn said, "Hey, I'm with him"

He hopped into the back of the ambulance, sitting by Wesley's side as it took off, heading for the hospital. However, as they turned down a corner, two police cruisers arrived, blocking their path. One of the paramedics got out and headed to the cops

"I don't like the look of this," Gunn muttered

BLAM! BLAM!

The paramedic went down, as Gunn leapt into the driver's seat and floored the engine in reverse, spinning the ambulance around and racing down the street, while the other paramedic kept an eye on Wesley's vitals

"Sorry, Wes," Gunn called, "We're gonna go someplace safe"

Gunn kept driving until they reached the shelter, seeing the police cruisers swing around the corner. He helped the paramedic get Wesley inside, before locking the door

"Charles, what's going on? Oh my god, what happened?" Anne cried

"Board and lock up all windows and doors," Gunn said, "Do it now"

"What happened to him?" Cordelia asked, holding Connor

"He got shot," Gunn replied, "Cops blocked us off, so we came here"

"Are they coming here?" Anne asked

"That's why I'm saying to lock all the doors"

Gunn laid Wesley onto a couch, as he, Anne and Cordelia, as well as some kids, went around locked all the doors and windows, red and blue lights flashing in the glass

"Oh shit, they're here," Gunn said, "All of you, get ready. They get in, smack them back out"

There came a crash against the front door, as Gunn and Cordelia moved a large bookcase in front of a window, while several kids held themselves against the front door as a brace against the assault

"This is not good, Gunn," Cordelia said, "Wesley looks like crap"

Connor had started to tear up, so Cordelia began rocking him, trying to calm him down, as the ramming continued outside

††††††††††

Angel and Kate arrived at the police station, surprised to find there was hardly anyone around. The pair then headed over to the desk to the single officer on duty

"Where is everyone?" Angel asked

"Not here," the officer replied, "We've kept the crime rate down around here"

"Yeah, I wonder how you did that," Kate said, showing her badge, then heading the dead officer's badge over, "He was about earlier"

"Look, you wouldn't understand. There was crime happening everyday on the streets. People were too afraid to leave their homes. We've cleaned it up real good"

"Where's the chief?" Angel asked

"Not here"

Angel grabbed the officer by the head and slammed it against the desk, effectively knocking him out, before striding past the desk, while Kate stared at him in amazement, surprised at his brutality

"It's probably best if you wait here," he said

"Okay then"

Angel kicked open the chief's office, seeing him make a hurried order and jump up from his desk in shock

"Can I help you?" he asked

"Sure can. I'm wondering about those cops you've raised from the dead"

"Those were good, honest cops. They didn't deserve to die like that. They were protecting our streets. You wouldn't understand. I won't leave them"

The chief then drew his handgun and shot Angel in the stomach, only for him to vamp out and leap across the desk, pinning him to the wall

"I'll ask again," Angel said, "How are you bringing them forth?"

The chief kneed Angel in the groin and took off through a secret door. Growling, Angel took off after him, grabbing him and throwing him against the wall, before looking around the room and seeing the photographs of the deceased officers

"Now, let's see," he said, walking over to the altar, "What will break the spell?"

"Please, don't, these are good men," the chief cried

Angel tossed the relics aside, before grabbing a statue of the zombie god and smashing it into little pieces

††††††††††

_Five minutes earlier…_

A window shattered, as the door was smashed open. Gunn and Cordelia attacked the officers with baseball bats and wrenches, forcing them back out, while another officer entered the shelter through a window, only to get attacked by the teenagers, forcing him outside and barricading the smashed window. The siege continued with the officers trying to get inside and getting beaten back, until they suddenly collapsed and became decayed once again. Gunn and Cordelia frowned, before rushing to Wesley's side, helping him out into the ambulance, as the paramedic drove them away

††††††††††

"Well, thank god that's all over," Kate said, sitting down at her desk

"Yeah. However, now the crime rate is going to go back up," Angel said, "Guess they'll have to find some other way than to use zombie cops"

A folder was placed on Kate's desk and she opened it, frowning at the file

"Wyndam-Pryce. Isn't that one of your guys?"

††††††††††

Angel took in the corridor, looking at Wesley's room, seeing Gunn in there, talking to the conscious Watcher. They shared a small laugh, as Angel turned to walk away. However, he came face-to-face with Cordelia, who instantly glared at him

"What are you doing here?" she demanded

"Heard about Wesley," Angel replied without emotion

"So it takes a gunshot wound for you to give a damn?" Cordelia said, anger rising in her voice, "Listen up, buddy. You walked out on us. We've moved on without you. We don't need you anymore. I don't need you anymore. Connor sure as hell doesn't need you. What can he do with a father who abandons him?"

She was letting her emotions take the better of her, but was feeling better now she had gotten her issues out and to the person in question. However, she was a little surprised to see Angel maintain his stoic look and that made her angrier

"You walked away from your son. So stay away. Don't come near us again"

Giving Angel one final look, she stepped around him and into Wesley's room. Angel watched her go, before turning his back and walking away

††††††††††


	17. 75 Year Review

††††††††††

Angel walked into the room and flicked on the light switch, revealing the room to be filled with goats. Raising an amused eyebrow, he moved on into the next dark room, easily two men talking amongst themselves about a sacrifice to perform

"Where's the sacrificial knife?" one of them asked

"You talking about this knife?" Angel asked, holding up the knife in question

"Hey, that's our-" the second man started

Angel had them pinned against the wall in a blink of an eye, his amber eyes blazing

"So, who you trying to summon, huh?" he growled

"You don't want to mess with this one," the first man said

Angel tossed them aside, before snapping the blade off the knife, then smashing up the sacrifice altar and everything else involved, as the two men ran for their lives

††††††††††

"How you feeling?" Cordelia asked

"A little better," Wesley replied, holding his wound, "I'll heal"

He was now in a wheelchair, as Cordelia rubbed her head. She just had a vision and sent Gunn out to deal with the demon in the sewers. Groaning, she looked at Connor, who smiled back at her and waved his plush rabbit around. Cordelia gave him a small smile and picked him up

"I'm going out. Want to come with?" she asked, "I'll buy you some new clothes"

"No thanks, I'll be fine," Wesley said, "How long will you be?"

"I'll be back in about an hour or so"

"Okay then"

††††††††††

Lindsey was trying his best to keep a clear mind. He was hiding a wanted vampire at his apartment, the review was coming up in a few days and he knew the Partners would be interested in inquiring him over Holland's death. Working with Lilah as co-vice presidents of the special projects department was not as easy, which he expected. He knew Lilah would be gunning for the position of vice-president, doing her best to make sure that Lindsey would be removed from his position. He knew he would have to make sure he did better than her in the review. His life and job depended on it

††††††††††

Angel headed down to Caritas, hoping to get some answers. For the past week, he had been turning up and destroying sacrificial chambers in small apartments rented out by Wolfram and Hart. He wanted to know what they were trying to summon and hoped that he could find out from the Host. He found the Host seated at the bar, watching the singers on stage, while sipping his seabreeze

"Long time, no see, champ," the Host said, "How you been? Terrible what you did"

"What I do, apart from locking a bunch of evil lawyers in with vampires?" Angel asked

"Firing your team, that's what," the Host replied, "Abandoning the woman you love and your kid. They were real messed up last time they were here"

"Yeah, well, I can't concentrate on them. I need some help. I'll sing if I have to, but I want to know what's going on with Wolfram and Hart"

"A bunch of their lawyers are here. Lucky for you, I've got an anti-violence charm up and running, cause the lawyers, well, they really hate your guts, Angelcake"

"You've heard them sing. What's going on?"

"A big review. Means big for them. One of the Partners comes along every seventy-five years and reviews their business. Promotes the good and decapitates the bad"

"Can I kill it?"

"Anything here can be killed. Downside of being here," the Host said with a sigh, before catching Angel's look, "Band of Blacknil. Don't ask me, I shouldn't be telling you that much"

Angel took off, as the Host sighed and tipped back the rest of his drink

††††††††††

Angel was at the Hyperion, going through his books and trying to work out what the Band of Blacknil was. However, the books he had didn't have the answer, but he knew where he could find such books. Ten minutes later, he was striding into the Angel Investigations office and grabbing a book off the shelf, only to be stopped by Cordelia, who took the book from him and place another in his hands, but he tossed it aside

"What the bloody hell is going on here, Angel?" Wesley demanded

"I need that book, Cordelia," Angel growled, inching close to her

"Who do you think you are, coming in here and acting like you own the place?" Cordelia shot back, unafraid of him

Connor sensed the tension between his parents and started to tear up

"Give him the book and let him get the hell out of here," Wesley said, standing up

Cordelia reluctantly gave Angel the book and he stormed off

"I don't even know what you are anymore," she called after him

"I'm a vampire, look it up," he shot back, leaving the office

"I can't believe him. What nerve," Cordelia growled

"Cordy, call the ambulance," Wesley cried, holding his bleeding wound

††††††††††

Angel was back at the hotel, reading up on the Band of Blacknil, discovering that it was used by the Senior Partners to move between their realm and the humans' world, taking on the form on a Kleynach demon. However, he needed a Holy Glove to kill the demon and knew the one place he could get it. Twenty minutes later, Angel was at the occult store, the same place he had visited fifty years ago and was slightly surprised to see that Denver was still there. After much discussion about the Band and the Glove, Denver returned from the backroom, holding said glove

"Picked it up at a garage sale back in '75, mainly used it as an oven mitt. I'm giving it to you, free of charge, simply because you changed my outlook on life," Denver said

Suddenly, a sword appeared out of his chest, as it was rammed into Angel's chest. Darla smirked at Angel, taking the glove from him

"Thanks, lover. This is just what I needed. Goodbye"

Darla smiled again and walked away, as Angel slowly eased Denver's body off his chest, then removed the sword and wiped the blade clean, before heading out

††††††††††

Lilah arrived at Wolfram and Hart, nervous about the review. That wasn't the only thing making her nervous, as Angel suddenly appeared and demanded her hand, using it to gain entrance to the building. They arrived in a large room where all the lawyers had gathered, a few monks performing a ritual to summon the Senior Partner. Angel looked around the room and headed towards a dark-haired woman in a red dress, spinning her around, whilst removing her wig and splashing holy water in her face. Darla growled and vamped out, kicking Angel across the room

"Vampire!" Lilah cried

Security guards showed up, as Darla lunged at Angel, punching him in the face. Angel whirled around from the blow and backhanded Darla, his face transforming, before kicking at her stomach. Darla dodged, his boot embedding into the wall, before punching a guard into two other guards. Angel removed his foot and whirled around, grabbing Darla by the shoulders and slamming her against the wall

"I want the glove, Darla," he growled

She punched him wearing said glove, then aimed a kick at his groin. Angel blocked, his head spinning from the blow, as he ducked Darla's next punch and landed his fist in her stomach. Darla kneed him in the jaw, then kicked him against the opposite wall. Guards were still coming into the room, but Darla and Angel were taking them out whilst fighting each other. At the same time, the monks were nearing the end of their ritual, as mist appeared on the ritualistic circle. Lindsey was watching the two vampires fight, while waiting for the Senior Partner to arrive with bated breath. He was nervous about the whole ordeal, although he was trying hard not to show it

Darla slammed Angel against the wall and punched him, before tripping his legs. Angel hit the floor with a thud, as Darla turned towards the rising Senior Partner, fixing the glove properly on her arm. Growling, Angel rose to his feet, flicking a stake out of his sleeve. Overcome by rage, he rammed the stake through Darla's heart

"Angel?" she asked him softly in her human face, looking over her shoulder

Angel resumed his human face as she exploded into dust, before picking the glove up

††††††††††


	18. Home Office

The dialogue between Angel and Holland in this chapter is taken directly from the episode, so I claim no ownership over it, along with Angel and everything else really

††††††††††

Cordelia was busy closing up the office. Wesley had been sent home by the hospital after they repaired his stitches. He was still feeling ill, but hoped to be fine by tomorrow. As she dusted the office, Cordelia thought back to earlier that night when Angel had stormed into the office. She couldn't believe the nerve he had, walking in and acting like he owned the place, coming and going as he wished. She was so angry with him and definitely wanted to give him a piece of her mind. Just then, the phone rang

"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless," Cordelia answered

"Miss Chase?" came Mrs. Sharp's voice, "We've thought things over and my husband and I have decided to pay you"

"You have? Well, that's great. Is it alright I come now and get it?"

"It won't be a problem"

Cordelia obtained the address and closed up the office, before picking Connor up and heading to her car. First, she'll drop Connor off at Piper's house for an hour or so, knowing that Piper wouldn't mind. Looking at the directions, Cordelia saw that her route went past the Hyperion. She decided right then and there to stop by and really vent her frustrations upon Angel, before collecting the money. At least it would make her feel better. Starting up the car, she drove off, intent on her mission

"One of them is coming," Mrs Sharp said to the Skilosh demon soon after hanging up

The Skilosh demon simply snapped her neck, her body joining her family's

††††††††††

Lindsey watched in horror as Darla was reduced to dust by Angel. He started to move towards the vampire, but he had already put the Holy Glove on and charged at the Kleynach demon. It whirled around, as Angel lunged at it, his hand wrapping around the demon's throat. The Senior Partner was instantly incinerated, leaving Angel only with a set of burnt robes and a thirty-storey drop. Slamming into the ground, Angel groaned in pain, surrounded by glass, before seeing the Band of Blacknil nearby. He got up and slid the ring onto his finger

"Home Office"

He heard a ding and turned around to see elevator doors open. Frowning, he headed over, getting a shock when he saw Holland Manners standing before him

"Congratulations. Great victory," Holland said

"You're..."

"Holland Manners"

"Not alive," Angel finished

"Oh, no. I'm quite dead. Unfortunately my contract with Wolfram & Hart extends well beyond that. Hop on in. You certainly earned it," Holland offered

Looking around the place, Angel cautiously entered the elevator, as the doors closed and it started to descend

"Well, this is exciting, isn't it? Going straight to the source. So what's the big plan, Angel? Destroy the Senior Partners, smash Wolfram & Hart once and for all?"

"Something like that," Angel replied stoically

"Hmm, now tell me just what do you think that would accomplish? In the end, I mean," Holland asked

"It'll be…the end"

"Well, the end of you, certainly. But I meant in the larger sense"

"In the larger sense, I really don't give a crap," Angel continued in his stoic tone

"Now, I don't think that's true. Be honest, you got the tiniest bit of "give a crap" left. Otherwise you wouldn't be going on this kamikaze mission. Now let me see, there was something in a sacred prophecy, some oblique reference to you. Something you're supposed to prevent. Now what was that?"

"The apocalypse"

"Yes, the apocalypse, of course. Another one of those. Well, it's true, we do have one scheduled. And I imagine if you were to prevent it you would save a great many people. Well, you should do that then. Absolutely! I wasn't thinking. Of course, all those people you save from that apocalypse would then have the next one to look forward to, but hey, it's always something, isn't it?"

"You're not gonna win"

"Well...no. Of course we aren't. We have no intention of doing anything so prosaic as "winning"," Holland said with a laugh

"Then why?" Angel asked in confusion

"Hmm? I'm sorry, why what?"

"Why fight?"

"That's really the question you should be asking yourself, isn't it? See, for us, there is no fight. Which is why winning doesn't enter into it. We...go on, no matter what. Our firm has always been here...in one form or another. The Inquisition. The Khmer Rouge. We were there when the very first cave man clubbed his neighbour. See, we're in the hearts and minds of every single living being. And that, friend, is what's making things so difficult for you. See, the world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us"

As they spoke, the elevator travelled through a Netherrealm of fire and brimstone, before finally coming to a stop, the doors opening with a ding. Angel was momentarily caught by surprise when he saw Los Angeles before him

"Welcome to the home office," Holland said

"This isn't..." Angel started

"Oh, you know it is. You know that better than anyone. Things you've seen. Things you've…well, done. You see, if there wasn't evil in every single one of them out there…why, they wouldn't be people. They'd all be angels"

The Holy Glove dropped to the floor, as Angel slowly walked out of the elevator

"Have a nice day," Holland said cheerily

The doors closed up again, as Angel walked throughout the streets of Los Angeles in a stunned state. Everywhere he looked, he saw evidence of Holland's speech and it crushed him inside. After all he had done, it all amounted to nothing. Nothing mattered anymore. Angel was feeling cold and empty inside as he trudged inside the Hyperion, shedding his coat, just as the phone rang. Angel allowed it to go to message bank, revealing to be Kate on the phone

During the day, she had been subjected to a small trial due to her role in Angel's attack on the chief and although she had tried hard to defend herself, the tribunal had fired her. Deeply upset, as being a police officer was her only life, she had returned home and started drinking vodka and taking pills, hoping to end her existence, as she had nothing left in her life. Hanging onto the thin strands of life, Kate called Angel and started blaming him, then blamed herself

Angel simply turned down the volume of the phone and slowly made his way upstairs, walking into his bedroom and stopping before the window

"Hello, Cordelia. You looking for the book?"

Angel raised the book and threw it onto the ground, as Cordelia stepped out before him, giving him a stern glare, but Angel simply ignored it

"I can't believe you. Honestly, I think Connor is better off without you"

Cordelia picked the book up, looked at it for a moment, then threw it at Angel's head, her anger contained in the throw. Angel batted the book aside with ease and stalked towards her, an empty look in his eyes

"After all we've been through, I thought I would matter to you," Cordelia vented, "I thought Connor and I mattered to you, above most things. Guess not. The minute your sire appears, you kick us out the door so you can pursue her"

"You don't understand, Cordelia," Angel said, "I don't know if you ever will. But you want to know why I did that? To protect you"

"Gee, thanks for filling me in on that little detail. But the point still remains. You got rid of me, your son, your friends, all for the sake of some blond from your past"

Cordelia was about to rant some more, but Angel crossed the room faster than she could blink, pressing her up against the wall, cold, empty, but passionate eyes gazing at her, as Angel breathed in her scent

"What would you know?" he growled, "I tried so hard to help her. I've tried so hard to help everyone, but it doesn't matter anymore"

He pressed his lips to hers, his kiss getting passionate. Cordelia tried to break away from her, but he held her tight, lifting her up against the wall. Angel drew back for a moment to allow her to catch her breath, then darted in for another kiss

"You taste so good. It's been so long," he groaned

"Too long," Cordelia murmured, too caught up in the passion

They simply forgot where they were and what they were doing, but by then, it was too late. After a couple hours of passion together, Angel and Cordelia were sleeping in his bed, recovering from their passionate time together after so long. However, an hour later, Angel shot up in bed to the sound of thunder, gasping in pain

_"Oh god. Not again!"_

††††††††††


	19. Epiphany part 1

Thanks for all the reviews so far and no, sorry, there will be no Angelus in this story. Now, on with the story

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Angel stumbled out onto the balcony, thunder and lighting rumbling in the sky. He had managed to dress himself in pants and a shirt, gasping in pain as he could feel his soul threatening to be torn from his body and he tried hard to hold on

"Angel?" Cordelia asked sleepily

She rolled over and found that he wasn't in bed, as memories of the previous few hours came rushing back to her head. She gasped in horror, realizing what was happening. She quickly got out of bed and hurriedly got dressed, before leaving the hotel as fast as she could. Sitting at the wheel, Cordelia took in a few deep breaths, before starting up the engine and continuing her driving to the Sharp's household. Cordelia couldn't believe how stupid she had been, giving in to her hormones like that and especially with Angel, considering how angry she was with him and now that she could have just unleashed Angelus. She grabbed her phone and dialled Wesley's number, but got no answer. She tried again and again, but gave up

"I'll head over there once I'm done here"

Meanwhile, Angel took in a few deep breaths, falling against the ground. He rolled onto his back, the pain starting to ease. To his own surprise, his soul remained intact. He couldn't understand how that would've happened. He loved Cordelia deeply; he knew that, despite what she had said to him. He had been hoping to lose his soul to remove the pain, but then he realized he had done it out of despair, which was why his soul remained intact. And with that thought came a whole new sense of clarity

Getting to his feet, Angel went inside and got dressed, before heading to his car and driving away to Kate's apartment. He burst inside, finding her lying on the living room floor, surrounded by empty vodka bottles and pills. He picked her up and rushed her into the shower, wetting her body down with cold water. After a few minutes, Kate coughed and came to consciousness, as Angel silently thanked the Powers

"Thank you," Kate said once she had gotten changed, "Now get out"

Angel obliged and left her apartment, knowing she had to come to terms with what she had done on her own. From there, Angel drove over to Wesley's place

††††††††††

Cordelia entered the house, surprised to see that no one was around

"Mrs Sharp? Mr Sharp? It's Cordelia Chase from Angel Investigations"

She rounded the corner and gasped at seeing the entire family massacred. At the same time, she received a vision that she was just about to be attacked. However, the warning came too late, as a Skilosh demon grabbed her around the waist and threw her against the wall, knocking her unconscious

††††††††††

Wesley had just gotten home and checked his messages, surprised to see three missed calls from Cordelia. He was just about to call her back, but a noise outside made him stop. Wheeling himself to the closet, Wesley grabbed his shotgun and a box of ammo, after some struggling, before positioning himself near the door and waiting. The door burst open and Angel found that he couldn't enter the apartment

"Wesley, I need you to invite me in," Angel said, "Why am I uninvited?"

"Because you are such a prude," Wesley replied, "You left us, Angel. I believe there was no point in you having an invite here because we would never see you again"

"Wesley, seriously, you need to invite me in," Angel said, "Look, I'm sorry for what I did, but right now, invite me in"

The window was smashed, as two Skilosh demons bounded into the apartment

"I invite you in, in I invite you," Wesley cried

Angel rushed into the apartment and battled against the two demons, as Wesley blasted one demon apart with his shotgun, getting splattered in yellow goo as a result, as Angel killed the other demon by snapping his neck. He looked at Wesley and grinned, getting one in return, but then the walls went up again

"We need to find Cordelia," Angel said

Within twenty minutes, Angel was in the Plymouth with Wesley and Gunn, heading over to the office, where they found that Cordelia wasn't there

"So, you had an epiphany?" Gunn asked, "You wake up and went bam?"

"Kinda the other way around," Angel replied, "Where would Cordelia go?"

"Well, she wasn't at my place, but I'll call Piper," Wesley said

"Maybe she went out, you know," Angel chuckled weakly

"I highly doubt it. Cordelia is not the same person you remember. You can walk away from the visions," Wesley said, "She can't. She's grown as a person, helped by the fact she had to raise your child alone"

Angel sighed and leaned against the wall, hands in pockets. What was he thinking? Of course Cordelia wouldn't the same person from Sunnydale. The visions and Connor would have changed her. He desperately needed to see her, to apologise for everything. He looked up as Wesley hung up the phone

"Piper said that Cordelia dropped Connor off about three hours ago. She's getting worried, as Cordelia said she'd only be gone for an hour"

Angel swallowed, as Gunn checked her notepad

"Got directions to a place. It's the Sharps"

"Why would she go there at this time of night?" Angel asked

"They owe us money," Wesley replied

"Right, let's go then"

††††††††††

Cordelia slowly opened her eyes and looked around…everywhere. The house was filled with Skilosh demons and she could see the ones before her and behind her. She frowned. Behind her! Getting to her feet, Cordelia wobbled over to the mirror and turned around, parting her hair and gasping in horror when she saw the third eye sticking out of the back of her head

"Oh my God!" she cried

"Two more have fallen," said a Skilosh demon

"We need more. Bring her friends," ordered the leader

"Very well"

A group of Skilosh demons headed off, as the leader leered at Cordelia

††††††††††

Angel, Wesley and Gunn were nearing the Sharp residence, when a group of Skilosh demons stepped out onto the road. Angel slammed the brakes on and hopped out of the car, as Gunn moved into the driver's seat

"Save Cordy. I'll be there," Angel said

"Can we count on you to do that?" Gunn asked

"Just go"

Gunn floored it and raced off, as the Skilosh demons converged on Angel. He grinned and booted one in the chest, before throwing another Skilosh over his shoulder. Whirling around, he punched a Skilosh on the nose, before blocking a Skilosh's punch and hitting him in the stomach. The Skilosh went down, as the rest of the pack suddenly ran off. Angel frowned, before hearing a roaring engine and turned around, seeing bright headlights as a truck slammed into him, running him down

††††††††††

Cordelia was sitting on the couch, her nails curling into the armrest as she thought about the last few hours and about the next few. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had slept with Angel again. At least last time, he was human and there was no threat of Angelus hanging over their heads. However, this time was different. She just prayed she could get out of here so she could stop Angelus from killing innocents. Not so easy when she was surrounded by demons intent on hatching their brood from her skull. Then she thought about Connor and how he would be wondering where she was. It was rare that she left him with Piper for long hours

"Wesley!" Cordelia cried, seeing him in the living room, out of his wheelchair, "Gunn," she said, seeing him behind her, "You're here to rescue me"

"We were," Wesley said, before revealing the Skilosh holding him prisoner

"But we got caught," Gunn said, "Hopefully, Angel will come through"

"Angel? He's with you guys?" Cordelia asked

"Yeah, he stopped to fight some of these guys. He'll be showing up anytime now"

††††††††††


	20. Epiphany part 2

††††††††††

Angel coughed up blood, having been repeatedly run over by a truck about five times. As his body tried to heal the minor injuries, Lindsey stopped his truck and got out, grabbing a sledgehammer from the tray and cracking Angel across the jaw

"You sonofabitch! You killed her!"

Angel was smacked back by the blow, as Lindsey struck him again, then slammed the hammer onto his ribs. Angel groaned when he felt several ribs shatter under the force. His face was bloody and bruised by the assault, as Lindsey swung the hammer again. This time, Angel grabbed the handle and shoved Lindsey back

"I'm sorry, Lindsey," Angel said, getting up, "I'm sorry you fell for her. I'm sorry I couldn't save her for you"

He punched Lindsey twice, then threw him against the truck

"I'm sorry you're so pathetic"

Angel then swung the hammer, shattering Lindsey's prosthetic hand, before tossing the weapon aside and getting into the truck

"You're lucky I had an epiphany, otherwise it would have been the other hand. By the way, I'm borrowing your truck"

Angel started up the engine and drove away, leaving Lindsey alone on the road. Remembering the directions to the house, Angel turned down a corner and sped the truck up as fast as he could go, smashing through the house wall and killing three Skilosh demons. Leaping out of the truck, Angel kicked another Skilosh in the face, then grabbed another Skilosh by the wrist and twisted, punching him down, before killing the demon holding Gunn prisoner. Gunn instantly got to his feet and struck the Skilosh holding Wesley, as Angel grabbed a Skilosh and slammed him against the wall, before grabbing another and throwing him into two other Skiloshes. Gunn slammed a Skilosh against the ground, before breaking the neck of another Skilosh

Once the battle was over, the three men rushed to Cordelia's side, as Wesley took out a small satchel bag and tipping some red power onto Cordelia's third eye. It closed up and faded away, the powder having killed the Skilosh spawn. Cordelia groaned and opened her eyes, looking up at Angel who smiled back at her

"Hey, how you doing?" he asked

"Angel…you hurt my feelings…" Cordelia said

Angel's face fell, as Wesley and Gunn helped Cordelia to her feet, as the latter helped the former back out to his wheelchair. Without looking back at Angel, Cordelia walked out of the house and back to her car, intent on ignoring him and picking up her son from Piper. Angel sat on the living room floor, his face crestfallen

††††††††††

Lindsey arrived back at his apartment to find his truck waiting outside for him. However, the front was smashed in, as if Angel had ran the truck through something thick and strong, while a sign was sitting on the bonnet, saying 'Thanks'. Sighing, Lindsey headed inside, looking around the apartment and resenting Angel further for smashing his fake hand and killing Darla. He liked it when the blond vampire was around. She was good company. Now, he wouldn't have that anymore. Letting out another sigh, Lindsey went to pour himself a strong drink

††††††††††

Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn all looked up when Angel slowly walked into the office. He was still bruised, but for the most part, he looked okay. Cordelia glanced at Connor, before looking at Angel

"Look, guys, I just wanna say, I'm sorry for all that I put you through," Angel said, "I shouldn't have done that and I don't deserve forgiveness"

Wesley took a deep breath as he readied himself for what he had to say

"We have been talking amongst ourselves and we agree that we're not ready to come back and work for you"

"I don't want you to work for me. I want to work for you," Angel said, "You can be in charge of Angel Investigations, Wes"

Wesley was caught off guard by that comment. He had never expected to be put in charge of Angel Investigations. It was the last thing he expected

"Very well then. But it all depends on what Cordelia says"

Angel looked up at Cordelia, sending her a silent apology. Cordelia was surprised by the look on his face and took a moment to gather herself together

"You work for us, you obey our orders and so forth. Turn on us again and I'll stake you good and well, father of my child or not"

"Fair terms," Angel said

Cordelia crossed her arms, asserting herself, but then cried out when a vision struck her, revealing to be a group of vampires attacking a young couple. She opened her eyes and looked about, surprised to see that she was still standing

"Why am I not on the ground?" she asked, before looking over her shoulder

Angel gave her a small smile, his hands resting on her shoulders, supporting her

"What did you see?" Wesley asked

"Vampires out in a park, attacking a young couple"

"Alright then, let's go slay," Gunn grinned

"Meet back at the Hyperion," Angel said, following Gunn out the door

††††††††††

_Later that night…_

Angel and Kate were sitting in the garden at the Hyperion. After taking care of the vampires, Angel brought the others back to the hotel and not long after that, Kate had showed up, wanting to talk to Angel in private

"I feel like such an idiot," Kate said

"A lot of that going around," Angel offered

"I just couldn't ... My whole life has been about being a cop. If I'm not a part of the force, it's like nothing I do means anything"

"It doesn't"

"Doesn't what?" she asked

"Mean anything. In the greater scheme, in the big picture, nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win," Angel said

"You seem kind of chipper about that," Kate noted

"Well ... I guess I kind of worked it out. If there's no great glorious end to all this, if ... nothing we do matters ... then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now. Today. I fought for so long for redemption, for a reward, finally, just to beat the other guy. But I never got it"

"Now you do?"

"Not all of it. All I want to do is help. I want to help because I don't think people should suffer as they do, because if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world"

"Yikes. Sounds like you've had an epiphany," Kate said with a small smile

"That's what I keep saying, but nobody's listening," Angel said

"You know, I don't think we're alone in this"

"What makes you say that?"

"I never invited you in the first place"

††††††††††

Following the talk, Angel bade goodnight to Kate and headed upstairs. Cordelia had taken a different room, not wanting to be in the same bed as Angel. Not that he blamed her. He could handle sleeping on his own for a while. It was for the best for the moment. However, before he went to bed, he opened up her bedroom door, looking at her as she slept, Connor's crib by her side. He couldn't enter the room due to the fact he hadn't been invited in, but he didn't mind standing in the doorway and watching her sleep. He didn't deserve her or their son and yet, here she was, sleeping the room across from his, staying at the same place as him. Angel knew that their relationship would take time to heal and he was willing to give it time

††††††††††


	21. Old Friends

††††††††††

"Here is your new office," Wesley said, showing Angel to a small office

Angel frowned at the small desk and looked back at Wesley's office, wishing it was still his, but he knew better than that. He deserved it

"And I'll have a cup of tea," Wesley said

"I want a cappuccino," Gunn called out

"Make mine coffee, short and black," Cordelia said

Wesley clapped Angel on the shoulder and left

"Man, atonement's a bitch," Angel mused

He sat down at the desk, thinking about the past few days. Everyone was back at the Hyperion and it was slowly starting to get back to the way things were supposed to be. Although there was a lot of work needed to done with his and Cordelia's relationship, which wasn't helped by the fact that Angel went to Sunnydale a day later to pay his respects to Joyce Summers, who had died the other day. Upon returning, Cordelia refused to talk to Angel and just earlier was the first time in days

"_Oh well, time to get started,"_ he thought

He got up from the desk and headed outside, seeing Cordelia unpacking her office equipment. He hurried over and helped her assemble the computer, much to her annoyance

"What are you doing?" she asked

"I'm helping," he offered

"Look, Angel, I don't need any help. And I hate to say this, but this is true. We're not friends. We're nothing more than co-workers with a son together, alright? You just let me do my thing, you do your thing and everything will be great"

Angel looked away from Cordelia, her words hurting him, but he deserved it. He knew that deep inside. He knew that he wasn't making it easy for her and he knew he couldn't expect them to get back together again after what he did

"Look, you and I may not be together, but I believe Connor needs a father," Cordelia continued, "Now, while you're here, why don't you go do that?"

Angel went to walk away, but a vision overcame Cordelia. She stumbled back, as he leapt across the room and caught her, supporting her against his body until the vision passed. She took a few deep breaths, as Wesley and Gunn joined her

"What did you see?" Wesley asked

"There's a couple in the park, getting attacked by two vampires wearing blue robes"

Wesley and Gunn went to grab weapons, as Angel tried to help Cordelia to her chair, but she shrugged him off, holding her head in her hands

"Look, why don't you go upstairs with Connor, take some time off?" he asked

He stumbled past the counter, throwing his coat on, before following after Wesley and Gunn, as Cordelia headed over to her son and picked him up, then heading upstairs

††††††††††

Wesley, Gunn and Angel arrived at the park, where they found the couple's car, however, the couple wasn't anywhere in sight. Neither were the vampires. Then came the scream from over the embankment and the trio rushed over, seeing the woman from Cordelia's vision being assaulted by a vampire wearing green robes. The vampire saw the trio and tossed the woman aside, as Gunn caught up to him and removed his robes in the struggle, as the vampire growled at him

"Now why would you want to hide a pretty face like that?"

The vampire swung his fist, but Gunn ducked and punched him. Growling, the vampire turned to run, only to get a stake in the heart from Angel

"He was wearing green robes," Wesley said, "Cordelia said blue"

"It was probably a mistake," Angel said, "It happens"

"I'm gonna go and see if there's any more robed vamps," Gunn said, heading off

"You know, I'm thinking of doing something for Cordy," Angel said, "Like maybe getting her some flowers. Something that says 'sorry about the visions' or 'I appreciate what you do'"

"Yes and while you're at it, pick me up one of those bouquets that say 'SORRY YOU GOT SHOT IN THE GUT!" Wesley said

"Right. Sorry," Angel said

††††††††††

Cordelia had just put Connor to bed and was drifting off to sleep herself, when she heard a noise outside her bedroom door. Thinking it might one of the boys; she got up from the bed and looked outside. Who she saw wasn't who she expected

"Harmony!" Cordelia cried

"Hey, Cor, how's it going?" Harmony asked

"Going good. Yourself? What brings you to LA?"

"Oh, I just broke up with someone and wanted to see LA for myself"

"Come on in and we'll talk more"

Cordelia opened the door for her old friend, before heading to the bed where Connor was sleeping and placing him in his cot, as Harmony looked around the place

"Hey, whose kid is that? Is he yours, Cordy?"

"Yeah, this is my son, Connor. He's nine months old"

"Who's the dad? Some random guy in a bar?"

"Angel. You know, Buffy's ex? He's the dad"

"Wow, really? So this is where you live? In a hotel. Nice place"

Cordelia glanced at the clock. It was getting late and Angel would be back with the others. Not sure how Angel would react to Harmony, she decided to find out

"Okay, it's getting late. It's great to see you again, Harm. So, where you staying?"

"Oh, I only got here a few hours ago, so I don't really have anywhere"

"Well, okay, this is a hotel, so you're welcome to stay here"

"Really? That'll be great. Thanks so much, Cordy!"

Harmony gave her a hug, as Cordelia showed her a room, before going to bed. Angel, Wesley and Gunn returned about thirty minutes later. The two men headed off home, while Angel checked on Cordelia and Connor, before going to his own bed. However, a few hours later, Harmony woke up and crept into Cordelia's bed, heading over to the sleeping seer. Her face transformed into that of a vampire's, as she sat down on the bed. Cordelia felt the movement and opened her eyes, as Harmony's face shifted back to normal before Cordelia saw it

"Harm, what are you doing?" she asked

"I'm so sorry," Harmony cried, "It's just, I saw you and I got this craving, you know. I mean, you look so beautiful and all and I just couldn't help myself"

"Hey, Harmony, it's okay," Cordelia said, sitting up, "I understand"

"I don't know if you do. I…I should get going"

"Harm, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm perfectly okay. Just glad you came to me"

Harmony gave her a small smile and headed back to her room

††††††††††

"I couldn't believe it," Cordelia said the next day on the phone, "Harmony's here in town and she came onto me"

"Harmony's in Los Angeles?" Willow asked from her dorm, "Uh-oh. Did you fight her off?"

"She just about attacked me. I fought her off real good. Kept calm about it. Didn't want to hurt her. I mean, Harmony is one of my old friends"

"Oh, well, that's good then"

"I never knew Harmony to be like that. Probably explains why she followed me around at school"

"Um, Cordelia, we are aware that Harmony is a vampire, right?"

"You kidding me? Harmony's a vampire? All this time I thought she was a lesbian," Cordelia said, before pausing, "Oh, good for you then"

"So, uh, how's little Connor?"

"He's getting bigger. You should see the amount of clothes I've had to buy him. He's crawling and teething, so he's getting into everything. Which is great"

"Sounds good. I've got to get ready for class. Good talking to you again," Willow said

"Yeah, you too, Will. See ya later"

Cordelia hung up and headed upstairs to talk to Harmony

††††††††††

"Cordelia's friend, Harmony, is in town," Angel said, "Arrived last night"

"And that's bad how?" Wesley asked

They were at the same park from last night, trying to track down anymore of the robed vampires. Gunn was downtown getting answers from demon bars

"Nothing's wrong with that. If Cordelia wants to have her friends around, then that's great. I can handle it. She needs to have her own life"

Just then, Angel's cell phone went off. After much fiddling around, he finally managed to answer it, the look on his face changing into horror as he listened to Willow

"We've got to go now, back to the hotel," Angel said after hanging up

"Why, what's wrong?" Wesley asked

"Harmony is a vampire"

††††††††††


	22. Disharmony

††††††††††

Cordelia and Harmony looked up when Angel and Wesley burst into her bedroom, wielding stakes, crosses and crossbows, ready to do some damage

"Back, fiend," Wesley cried, holding a cross to Harmony

"Um, Wesley, what's going on?" Cordelia asked

"Harmony's a vampire," Angel replied

"Yeah, I know that. And she's my friend, so she's staying"

The two women were dressed in robes, their hair wrapped in towels as they painted each other's nails. Or had been before the two men burst inside

"Oh, we're sorry, we'll just go," Angel said

"Yeah, that'll be good," Cordelia said, giving him a small glare

"You and Angel not doing so well together?" Harmony asked after they left

"It's a big complicated story. Let's move on"

††††††††††

"I got some news," Gunn cried, walking into the hotel later that night, "People have been disappearing for the last week or so and it's usually couples"

"If that's the case, how come there have been no deaths?" Wesley asked

"Someone's trying to build an army," Angel replied

Gunn saw Harmony and gave her a smile and wave, getting one in return

"It's okay, she's a vampire," Wesley said sarcastically

The smile faded as Gunn straightened and looked around

"Don't we kill them anymore?"

"Harm's my friend and watch it with the stakes," Cordelia said

She then picked Connor up and moved him away from the sword resting against the wall, before grabbing the sword and shoving it against Angel's chest

"Get rid of it"

"Well, the disappearances have been occurring around this district," Wesley said, drawing a circle on a map, "We'll start there and search about. Hopefully with any luck, we might be able to find the survivors"

"Okay then, let's get going," Angel said, "Cordy, are you coming with?"

"Yeah okay. I'll call Piper to come around"

"So, what do I get to do?" Harmony asked, "I mean, I don't know what I should do. I have no idea what's next for me"

"Before we go searching, we should go somewhere for Harmony," Cordelia said

"Are you sure about that?" Wesley asked

"It'll be quick, Wes, stop being such a prude. Come on, Harm"

"Such a fitting nickname," the Watcher muttered as Angel caught it and smirked

††††††††††

The group arrived at Caritas twenty minutes, where the Host was belting out a number. They watched him finish his song, before making his way towards them

"Angelwings, good to see you're with the gang again," he grinned, "And who is this young lass?"

"This is my friend, Harmony and she's in need of some guidance," Cordelia said

"Of course, happy to help. Now, Harmonica, there is a small line, but don't worry you'll be up and in the meantime, we have some complimentary blood on offer"

"This place is awesome," Harmony grinned, taking a seat

"Well, have fun, Harm," Cordelia said

"Hey, what do you think I should do, 'Candle in the Wind' or 'Princess Diana Candle in the Wind'?"

"Go nuts, do them both"

Harmony grinned as a glass of blood was placed before her and the group left, heading downtown and reaching the district where the kidnappings were happening. However, as they reached the area, they were surprised to see Harmony with them

"Harmony, what are you doing here?" Cordelia asked

"The green guy got me to sing for him personally and he told me I should go with the flow on things, that you're my guide or something like that. So now I know where I should be. With you guys"

She grinned and gave both Angel and Cordelia a hug, as the vampire grimaced and stepped away from the blond vampire with Wesley and Gunn

"Okay, we need to deal with this and we can't have any distractions," he said

"Should I kill her?" Gunn asked, raising his car rim axe

"What? No. Cordelia will have you"

"Well, what should we do?" Wesley asked, as Cordelia and Harmony joined them

"I'll search around, scope the place out. I'll find them easily"

"Too many vampires know your face. Some can sense your soul"

"So what do you suggest we do?" Gunn asked

"I know, we can send Harmony in," Cordelia said, "She's new in town"

"Are you sure about that?" Angel asked

"Don't question me, broody. Go on, Harmony, you'll do fine"

"Oh, I don't know"

"Simple in and out really. We'll give you twenty minutes, then meet us out back," Wesley said

"Okay then. Watch out everyone, here comes Harmony," she said, vamping out

Harmony headed off in search of the vampires' nest, as the group waited out the back for her. Twenty minutes later, she came out, this time in her human face

"There's a lot of vampires in there," Harmony said, "There's also a cage full of people on a stage. And the leader is some weirdo"

"Alright, let's go then," Wesley said, drawing a small crossbow

The group headed inside, led by Harmony, coming out onto a large stage in an auditorium. However, there was no one in sight

"Harmony, where's the vampires?" Wesley asked

"All around you," was the answer

The lights came on, as vampires filled the auditorium, all wearing different coloured robes and growling, as a vampire in white robes descended the stairs

"Well done, Harmony. Only a member for twenty minutes and look at what she brings us: two to turn, one to eat and the infamous Angel"

"Who the hell are you?" Cordelia asked

"I'm Doug Sanders and I'm the leader of the pyramid, a social structure for vampires. And I think someone's upgraded to blue robes"

Harmony smiled as another vampire dressed her in blue robes

"I belong with them," she said, her face transformed

"Oh Harmony, you really are an idiot," Cordelia said, "Still a sheep"

"Hey, I'm part of something"

"I'm getting sick of this," Angel said, "Wes, free the humans"

Angel and Gunn rushed forth to fight the vampires. Cordelia dodged a punch and staked her vampire, as Wesley punched a vampire and staked him, making his way to the cage. Gunn decapitated a vampire and struck another in the gut with the handle, before beheading the vampire as well, then heading over to Wesley and destroying the lock. The cage swung open, as the humans spilled out and rushed for the exit. Cordelia saw Harmony and headed over to her, delivering two swift punches. Harmony retaliated with an uppercut that sent Cordelia soaring, while Angel was battling against Doug, who grabbed a fire axe and swung, only to get disarmed and decapitated. Meanwhile, Harmony stood over Cordelia, who aimed a crossbow at her throat

"Stupid Cordy, that won't kill me"

"No, but this one will," Cordelia said, holding another crossbow to her heart

"But we're friends, aren't we?"

"Not anymore. Now get out of here and never come to my city again"

Harmony quickly hurried up the stairs and disappeared from sight

"Don't say a word," Cordelia said to Angel, before walking off

††††††††††

"You wanted to see me?" Angel asked

"Yes, take a seat, Angel," Wesley said, "I want to talk to you about Cordelia"

"Don't worry, I'm giving her space and time. She deserves it. I owe her a lot for making her raise our son alone, so I'm making up for it"

"Well, that's good then. Nice initiative"

A scream rang out, as Cordelia burst into the office, carrying a large assortment of clothes, as Angel and Wesley got to their feet

"Oh my God! I love them," Cordelia cried, hugging Angel, "For a guy, you sure have such good taste. Oh my God!"

"I bought her clothes," a grinning Angel said to Wesley

"Weeee, I'm gonna try them on. Oh my God!"

"I'm glad you like them," Angel said, "Interested in dinner tomorrow night?"

"But you don't eat," Cordelia said

"I'll make an exception. We can take Connor out as well"

"Alright then. He, he, I'm out of here. Lalalalala"

††††††††††


	23. A New Hand

Merry Christmas

††††††††††

Lindsey opened his eyes to the sound of the alarm and used his new prosthetic hand to silence the clock. Making himself a cup of coffee, he got dressed, before gazing at the acoustic guitar sitting in the corner of the closet. With a regretful look, he closed the closet and continued about his business, before heading off to work

††††††††††

_An ordinary man in an ordinary home with his ordinary family. All getting ready for school and work. A happy, normal family. The family leave the house, but the husband remains to grab a few books. He's reading the newspaper, as he grabs a knife and suddenly plunges it into his eye_

Cordelia screamed and stumbled back, as Angel flew across the lobby, catching her as she fell and supporting her against his body. The vision passed, as Wesley and Gunn joined the couple, worry etched onto their face

"A normal family, but the father…oh god…call the hospital and ask for facial injuries from a knife attack"

Wesley and Gunn headed off, as Cordelia started to cry, curling up against Angel as he held her close, arms wrapped around her

"Can you make sure Connor is okay?" she asked

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine"

Angel helped her to her chair, before leaving to check on Connor, while Wesley and Gunn were making phone calls to all hospitals

††††††††††

"Ah, Lindsey, I've been looking for you," Nathan said, "Got a little something for you. Also, we have a review coming up for you and Lilah on Thursday"

Lindsey took the card and gave Nathan a confused look

"What's this?"

"I've got you scheduled in later today. You'll be fine. You're in the running"

Nathan gave Lindsey a smile and headed off, as Lindsey looked at the card

††††††††††

"How you feeling?" Angel asked

"Ask me that one more time, I dare you," Cordelia threatened, "I am getting sick and tired of everyone asking me if I'm okay. Wesley and Gunn asked like three times each earlier today"

"Look, I'm sorry, but we're not quite getting anywhere with this case. Think you'll be able to take another look and see if there's something you missed"

Cordelia raised an eyebrow, seeing the pleading look on Angel's face, before closing her eyes, as she tried to pry back in the vision from hours earlier

"One of the kids has her name on her bag. Doherty or something. State school"

"Okay, Doherty, we'll work with that. Thanks, Cordy. Take some time off"

Angel left to tell Wesley and Gunn the update, as Cordelia headed upstairs

††††††††††

"Lindsey McDonald, we've gone over your vitals and you are fit for transplant," the doctor said

"Transplant? What's going on?" Lindsey asked

He was down at the facility that Nathan had sent him to, wondering what was going on, especially now that the doctor mentioned a transplant

"Didn't they tell you?" the doctor asked, "You're getting a new hand. I thought they would have told you"

"They like to keep us on our toes," Lindsey said sarcastically

"Well, if you come this way, we'll have you prepped and ready"

Lindsey followed after the doctor, before lying down on the operating table. He was placed under aesthetic and passed out. A couple of times during the operation he gained consciousness, hearing something about a pockla and seeing a robed demon that touched his wrist, healing the wound

Lindsey woke up the next morning and saw his new hand. There was a faint scar on the wrist, as he flexed the fingers before setting about getting ready for work, before spying the guitar in the closet. He took it out and sat on the bed, before strumming a few chords. Pleased with his new hand, Lindsey headed to work, greeting Nathan and a few other important people in the higher departments

"Can you stab me in the back a little deeper?" Lilah asked after they left, "I still have feeling in my legs"

"Yeah, maybe later," Lindsey said, "The review is coming up in two days"

"Oh yeah, where they promote one and sack the other, using real sacks. Just because you've got a brand spanking new working hand doesn't mean you'll win"

"No, but if the firm is willing to spend that sort of money on me, that obviously means I'm in the lead with brownie points. So if I were you, Lilah, I'd catch up"

"Ah, Lindsey, Lilah, I have someone you should meet," Nathan said, returning with a man, "I believe he's in need of your services. Don't worry, sir, you're in good hands"

Lilah and Lindsey took the man to a conference room and began the meeting with him. Lindsey noticed that Lilah was looking nervous, despite her trying to hide it. He smirked, because he knew he was going to win in the end. But then he was caught by surprised when he looked down at his notes and saw that his new hand had been writing 'kill' all over the paper. Disturbed, Lindsey packed up and left

"Don't worry about him," Lilah said, "Do continue"

Reaching his office and closing the door, Lindsey took in a few deep breaths, before grabbing a pen and placing it on some paper, trying to get his hand to do it again. However, it didn't, despite Lindsey stabbing it a few times with another pen

††††††††††

"Bad news," Wesley said, "The victim was transferred overseas"

"So that means we have no leads, nothing that could have caused this," Gunn said

"Well, there's only one thing left to do," Angel said

"Oh no," Cordelia said, "You're gonna sing, aren't you?"

"Why not? It's the only chance we've got"

"Anyone got earmuffs?" Gunn asked, "Heavy duty thanks"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my singing," Angel protested

"Despite that, you are right," Wesley said, "We have to go to Caritas"

Everyone was quiet on the drive over to Caritas, where they were greeted with a surprise. A very big surprise in fact. Everyone in the club were mesmerised by the person on stage, practically singing his heart out. But it wasn't a spell

Pretty girl on every corner

Sunshine turns the sky to gold

Warm, warm, it's always warm here

I can't take the cold

Streets littered with diamonds

Every one's glistening

This whole world shines so brightly

I can't see a thing

Pretty as a picture

Seems like a golden rain

Settles me with love and laughter

I can't feel a thing

The sky's gonna open

People gonna pray and crawl

It's gonna rain down fire

It's gonna burn us all

The sky's gonna open

People gonna pray and sing

Oh, I can't feel a thing

Angel was surprised to see that Lindsey was singing the song and it made him jealous inside that the lawyer was a far better singer than he was. It was also annoying to see Cordelia mesmerised by the singing and it made him want to tear Lindsey apart, but he knew he couldn't due to the protection spell. Once the song was over, Lindsey left the stage to a huge round of applause, making his way over to the Host

"Welcome back, champ, good to see you in the saddle," the Host greeted

"So, what can you tell me about my evil hand?" Lindsey asked

"That's what you two are gonna find out"

"What? You want us to work together?" Angel cried

"No way. I am not working with him," Lindsey said, "I see him outside, I'll kill him"

Lindsey left the club, as the Host turned to Angel

"Loving singing voice. Too bad resentment's such an ugly thing"

††††††††††


	24. Kill, Kill, Kill

††††††††††

Lindsey snuck into Nathan's office and logged onto the computer, before going through the files and searching for the facility where he got his hand. From there, he learned that the facility, Fairfield Clinic, had payed someone to do some work for them. After obtaining the man's name, Lindsey signed off and exited the office, before hearing a noise from the files room. Sneaking over to the door, he spied Lilah going through the filing cabinet, searching for something. Once she had what she needed, she placed it in her purse, as Lindsey headed off

††††††††††

Cordelia washed her mouth out, before flushing the toilet and heading out into the lobby, just as Angel came into the hotel

"Got it," he called, "Lindsey's hand belonged to a guy called Bradley Scott. He disappeared about a month ago after getting paroled from jail"

"How'd you get the info?" Gunn asked

"Followed my nose," Angel said, "Cordy, see if you can find out more on him"

"Nice work, Angel," Wesley said, "How did your nose get you into the NCIC?"

"What?"

"The National Crime Investigation Centre?"

"Long story. What'd you get, Cordy?"

"We've got time," Gunn said

"Oh, I hired a private detective. He's a friend"

"We're private detectives," Wesley said

"We have friends on the force," Gunn added

"We had one, she got fired. Get over it"

"Bradley Scott," Cordelia said, "Look at where he used to work. Wolfram and Hart"

"So, Scott goes to jail, Wolfram and Hart wait for him to get out, then whack him and give his hand to Lindsey," Gunn said, "Guess they wanna give that guy everything"

††††††††††

Knock, knock!

The middle-aged man sighed and got up from the couch, flicking the TV off

"Who's there?" he asked

"It's Lindsey McDonald. I'm from Wolfram and Hart. I need to talk to you"

The parole officer opened the door and checked outside, before letting Lindsey in

"What do you want?"

"I had a procedure done at Fairfield Clinic," Lindsey answered, "I know they paid you to do some work for them before, but I need to know where they get their body parts"

"What's the code?"

"Code?"

"If you're with Wolfram and Hart, you'd know the code"

"I'm a lawyer, but it's not my case. I just need-"

Whack!

Lindsey fell against the wall, as the parole officer pistol-whipped him again, knocking him out. When he regained consciousness, Lindsey found himself pinned against the wall, a large revolver aimed at his head

"What's the game?" the parole officer demanded

"It's no game. This is about me"

"Goodbye"

CRASH!

A dustbin shattered the window, as the parole officer got Lindsey into a headlock and aimed the gun at his head, before moving over to the window. He looked outside, as a noose slipped over his neck, tightening and allowing Lindsey to slip out of the lock

"What are you doing here?" he demanded after taking the gun

"Saving your life," Angel replied, holding the noose

"I don't need your help. Why aren't you killing me?"

"Here on a case. Does everything have to be about killing you?"

The parole officer tried to slip away, but Angel tightened the noose, choking him

"That's my lead. You're choking my lead," Lindsey cried

"My lead, my lead," Angel said in a high voice, before resuming his normal voice, "Are we in school? Need to learn to play along with others, Lindsey. Now, I'm gonna loosen this and you're gonna talk about Bradley Scott"

"Who?" Lindsey asked

"Guy whose hand you're wearing. Listen up"

"You don't tell me what to do"

"So immature"

"Shut up!"

"I'm not telling you anything," the parole officer said, "You can kill me, but Wolfram and Hart will do worse"

"Why would I want to kill you when I can live off you for a month?" Angel asked, vamping out, "Mmm, can you smell that butterfat?"

"You're gross," Lindsey said in a disgusted tone

††††††††††

Angel and Lindsey arrived at the building where the parole officer had taken Bradley Scott. Angel smashed a window and climbed inside; taking out the guards, before heading downstairs with Lindsey close behind him. They entered the basement, seeing people in an animated state inside tanks, some of them missing their body parts

"I remember him," Lindsey said, seeing Bradley, "We were in the mail room"

"Kill…" Bradley gasped

"Kill who?" Lindsey asked, "Who do you want to kill?"

"…me. Kill me…"

Lindsey looked at Angel, who gave him a slight nod, then cut off the power supply. Bradley had a small smile on his face as he died

"Right, get out everyone who is whole. This is going to hell," Angel said

Together, he and Lindsey took out the survivors, as Angel turned on the large gas bottles, running upstairs and lighting up a piece of paper, tossing it down into the basement. He ran for it, joining Lindsey on the street as the building exploded

††††††††††

Thursday had arrived and the review was happening. Lilah was nervous behind her wits, knowing that this was the point where she would die so Lindsey could be promoted. She had tried really hard, but it obviously wasn't enough

"And so it comes to this," Nathan said, "We are elated, as one of us is promoted, but sad as one of us leaves. Lindsey, congratulations"

"No," Lilah cried

"You could've had it. But you didn't have what it takes... an evil hand," Lindsey said, before getting up, "I mean, come on. Who here does, huh? Leon doesn't. Charlie doesn't. You do know you gave me an evil hand, right? I've been writing "kill, kill, kill" on everything. It's crazy. It's crazy. Anything could happen!"

"Allen?" Nathan said, signalling the security guard

"Allen, how are you?" Lindsey asked before punching him and taking his gun, then shooting him in the foot, "Oh, that's gonna hurt in the morning. Stop it, evil hand, stop it! I just can't control my evil hand. Nathan, I'm so proud that you chose me"

Grinning, he ruffled Charlie's hair, before continuing,

"If I would have been in your shoes, I would have chosen Lilah. Let me tell you why. Do you have any idea of the hours this chick has logged in? Huh? The files she has on you guys? Deep stuff. Ronnie, your stock manipulations. Nathan's little offshore accounts. Can you imagine if something were to happen to this girl, and those files got back to the Senior Partners? They'd eat you alive! She's been working overtime, boys. She's everything you ever dreamed of. Lilah is your guy. Me, I'm unreliable. I've got these evil hand issues. And I'm bored with this crap. And besides, I'm leaving, so if you wanna chase me, be my guest. But remember," Lindsey said, before holding up his hand, "Evil. Good luck"

As he left the office, he goosed Lilah on the way out, before grinning and holding up his hand. Lilah was in shock at what had just happened

"Lilah Morgan has been promoted to head of special projects," Nathan said

††††††††††

Later that night, Lindsey was packing up his belonging and putting them in his truck. He put his guitar in the tray, before seeing Angel standing at the back

"You know, I like this truck," Angel said, "So, you're leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm outta here," Lindsey said

"Well, I'm here to say goodbye and don't come back"

"To here? Nah, you have Los Angeles"

"Good. I didn't want to do anything immature here"

"Key to Wolfram and Hart. Make them play your games, not theirs"

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Angel said, "Don't drive too fast. Lots of cops out"

Lindsey smiled and got into the truck, before starting up and taking off. Angel grinned, seeing the 'Cops Suck' sign he had attached to the back of the truck

††††††††††


	25. The Outsider

††††††††††

"To Cordelia," Angel said, raising his drink, "Congratulations"

"Oh, it's no big thing really," Cordelia smiled, "It's just a commercial"

"A national commercial," Wesley said, "You don't get many of them about"

"Well, I suppose. Still, this was a great idea, Angel"

"Yeah, I'm just worried about the emptiness of my wallet"

Cordelia smiled, before wiping Connor's face after he had made a small mess of his dinner. Angel smiled, watching the pair. He was glad that Cordelia had gotten this part. She deserved to go out and live her dream. Now she was having that chance"

"So, Cordy, want some more?" Gunn asked, referring to the food

"No thanks. I don't think it's agreeing with – oh crap"

Cordelia disappeared from view, throwing up all over the floor, as Angel, Wesley, Gunn and everyone else in the vicinity all jumped to their feet in surprise

"Think they'll give a refund for that?" Angel asked wistfully

††††††††††

Caritas was packed and the star attraction was on stage, belting out a hit. The Host grinned, hitting a high note on the song, as the special effects went into play, flashing across the stage. The crowd went into applause, making the Host grin wider. However, the special effects was actually a portal, as a massive, ugly green-skinned demon with red eyes and small tusks appeared in the middle of Caritas. It roared and began tearing the club apart, as the Host watched on horrified

"It's okay people," he said in a stunned voice, "Nothing to be afraid of"

††††††††††

Angel arrived on the set of Cordelia's commercial, enjoying the fake sunlight

"What are you doing here?" Cordelia hissed, wearing a robe

"Enjoying the sunlight," Angel replied, "I'm here about the demon in your vision"

"Angel, you need to get out of here, right now"

"Okay, places everyone. Where are the stars?" called the director, "Alright, miss, time to take off the robe"

Cordelia looked at Angel and sighed, before removing her robe, revealing her shell-covered two-piece gold bikini. Angel couldn't help but steal glances at her

"What's with the make-up?" the director asked, "Why does she look like a hooker? Tell Marge that I wanna sleep with her, not throw her out"

"Hey," Angel growled, "Don't talk to her like that"

"Real smart, bringing your boyfriend to the set," the director continued, "That really helps your career"

"You will apologise to her right now," Angel growled, standing right before the director and throwing off Cordelia's attempts to pull him back

"Angel, it'll be fine. Just go," Cordelia said

Angel glanced at Cordelia again, before growling at the director and storming off

"Alright then, places everyone," the director called as if nothing had happened

††††††††††

Angel arrived back at the Hyperion, muttering angrily under his breath. He grabbed a mug of blood out of the fridge and heated it up, before grabbing the jar of baby food and placing Connor in his highchair, while still muttering angrily

"Angel, is something wrong?" Wesley asked

"Cordelia's commercial," Angel replied moodily, "I was this close to tearing the director's head off. You should have seen what he made her to wear"

"What was it?" Gunn asked, unsure if he wanted to know

"It was this bikini, or supposed to be one. It hardly covered anything. Atrocious"

"Completely," Wesley said after a moment

"Agree with you there," Gunn added, "Connor enjoying the solids"

"He prefers to throw it around," Angel said, giving Connor a spoonful, "The kid's got some strength in him. It's unbelievable"

"Granted, you are a vampire"

"I was human at the time, Wesley. And anyhow, moving on-"

"To more pressing matters," cried the Host, coming inside, "I need your help, guys"

"What's happening?" Gunn asked

"I was in the middle of my performance and it was a good one too. Then this portal opened up. Totally threw me off. However, this demon came out and wrecked the joint, now it's out on the streets. And I must say it is quite important you kill it. I cannot stress that enough. You _must _kill this demon"

"Okay, what type of demon is it?" Wesley asked

"It's a Drokken. It came from my home world"

"Home world?" Angel asked

"Pylea. Not exactly a nice place to be. Why do you think I'm here? But this Drokken, it's got to be taken care of like now"

"Okay then, we'll do a sweep from Caritas," Angel said, "And – oh, sorry Wes"

"It's okay. We'll do what you've just said"

††††††††††

After about an hour or more of searching and no sign of the Drokken, Angel, Wesley, Gunn and the Host returned to the Hyperion, where Cordelia was waiting, this time, appropriately dressed and her head bowed, with Connor at her feet

"Cordy, is everything okay?" Angel asked

"I left the set," Cordelia said, "The director just wanted me there for eye candy, not for my acting talents. But, there's also this"

She handed something to Angel. He looked at the blue strip and frowned

"What does this mean?"

"It means I'm pregnant…again"

"What? How? When?" Wesley and Gunn cried together

"That night," Angel murmured, "But how? It's impossible. I'm a vampire"

"Huh?" Gunn said in confusion

"I don't know how," Cordelia said, "Well, I know how, but I don't know _how_"

"A vampire impregnating a human is physically impossible," Wesley said, "Connor was conceived because Angel was human at the time. This is different"

"While this is fascinating and congratulations to the pair of you," the Host said, "There is the importance of a Drokken beast out on the loose"

"Also, I had a vision today," Cordelia said, ignoring the Host, "A young woman in a library. She opens a book and reads it, before vanishing into a portal"

"Okay, let's go the library," Angel said

"Angel, what about the Drokken?" Wesley asked

"The library is close. We can stop there, stop the girl from vanishing and continue the search for the Drokken. Sound good? Good, let's go"

††††††††††

The group soon arrived at the library, minus Gunn, who had been called out by his old gang just before they left the hotel. Cordelia had Connor on her hip as she led the way to the counter

"Excuse me, I'm looking a young woman, my height, slim build, brown hair and had an apple pendant"

"Oh, you're talking about Fred? We call her Winifred for short. She's been missing for the last five years"

"What happened to her?" Wesley asked

"Fred was just shelving some books one night and then she suddenly disappeared," the librarian answered, "She was over there"

"Thanks," Cordelia said

She handed Connor over to Angel, before heading over to the bookshelf and searching through them, then pulling a large thick book out and opening it

"Um, yeah, I'd like to buy a vowel," she said

"What does it say?" Angel asked, juggling Connor

Cordelia started reading the text. The Host was only partially listening, until he realized what Cordelia was saying and went to stop her, however, it was too late. A portal opened up, as Angel drew Cordelia close to him, while a demon came flying out of the portal. He drew his sword, as Angel handed Connor to Wesley and kicked the demon in the stomach. It punched Angel back, before getting a fist to the face, as he was disarmed and slammed against a bookshelf by Angel. He was humanoid, with green skin, wearing leather armour and had two small red horns growing out of his forehead. He also had red eyes, long orange hair and an orange goatee

"Landokmar?" the Host asked in surprise

"Kreslorneswath?" the demon asked, also in surprise

"What the?" Angel asked, "You two know each other?"

"We're cousins," the Host replied

††††††††††


	26. Family Ties

††††††††††

"So, who are you?" Wesley asked

"Landokmar of the Deathwok Clan"

"And that would make you?"

"Kreslorneswath of the Deathwok Clan," Landok replied, "It was believed you took the plunge into the Pits of Urk. A coward's death. Your mother must know you're alive"

"And how is my dear mother?" the Host asked, "Does she miss me?"

"Misses you about as much as a Drokken attack"

"Sounds like Ma. Speaking of Drokkens, we've got one right here"

"Then you will lead me to it, for I shall slay it"

"You do that, champ"

"Kreslorneswath?" Cordelia asked

"I prefer Lorne, but that makes everyone tell Lorne Green jokes"

"Oh, I get it," Angel said with a small grin

"Come, let's slay the Drokken," Landok cried, grabbing his sword, "Show me where the beast first entered this world"

††††††††††

Gunn arrived at the base of his old gang, all huddled around together in sadness. Confused as to what was going on, Gunn pushed his way through the crowd, reaching the couch where the body of his friend, George, laid. He saw Rondell nearby, before seeing the cause of death: twin puncture marks on his throat. Gunn fell to his knees, upset at the loss of his friend. Once the mourning was over and the funeral underwent planning, Gunn cornered Rondell

"Why didn't you call me earlier? I could have helped you"

"We can't rely on you, G. You've been running around with your new family. You don't have time for us no more"

"Then I'll make time. Come on, help me load up the truck"

Rondell followed Gunn outside, as they loaded up the truck with wooden objects

††††††††††

"What is he doing?" Angel asked

Landok was standing on the street corner, waving his hand before his nose. After heading to Caritas, the group had followed Landok to the scene of a grisly murder. A human had been torn apart, the brutality indicating a Drokken. It had also eaten part of the body, before running off

"He's tracking the aura of the beast," Lorne replied, "It's what my people are skilled at. Hunting and tracking. Glorified champions. That's no life"

Angel didn't say anything as he followed after Landok, a broadsword in his hand

"The beast is this way," Landok called, "It has taken a captive"

"Let's go then," Angel said

He and Landok got back into the Plymouth with Lorne and Cordelia, as Wesley drove around the corner, following Landok's directions, coming to a building dock, where a maze had been built out of stacked pallets

"Okay, Wes, you're coming with me," Angel said, "We'll go with Landok and hunt this thing down. Cordy, you're staying with Lorne"

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean a thing"

"Cordy, please, just stay in the car"

Cordelia huffed and crossed her arms. Angel smiled and gave her a small kiss on the forehead, glad that she didn't try to brush him off. Grabbing his broadsword, he joined Wesley and Landok in the maze

"So, you're pregnant again," Lorne said, "That's, uh, impossible"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Cordelia said, "Now I'm out of action for months"

"At the same time, you get to put your feet up and relax"

"Visions don't make it easier"

"Yeah, you've got a point there"

Angel, Wesley and Landok travelled through the maze, until they came to a fork. Landok went right, while Angel and Wesley went left, trying to find the Drokken and the hostage, hopefully with the latter still alive, unaware that the Drokken was watching them from above, planning out its attack

††††††††††

Gunn stood amongst his old gang, watching the fire twist and cackle, eating away at the wood, as well as George's body. As the flames burned brightly, Gunn said a silent prayer for his fallen friend, before heading back to his truck, falling into his thoughts. It was because of his time with Angel Investigations that George had died. Gunn didn't want any more of his friends dying because he wasn't there to help them and decided to leave Angel Investigations, knowing it was for the best. Starting up the truck, Gunn drove back to the hotel in order to tell them his decision

††††††††††

Angel could hear the whimpers of the human and followed after them, while keeping his instincts open for the Drokken. Wesley had lit up a flare to help better guide their way, as they came to a large area where the woman was hiding in the corner

"Wesley, get her out of here," Angel said, "Beware the Drokken"

"I'll call you if I see it"

Wesley helped the woman to her feet and began leading her out of the maze, as Angel started to backtrack, searching for Landok and the Drokken. He heard Landok cry out and rushed towards the sound, coming into another large area where Landok was battling against the Drokken, sporting a bite wound to his shoulder. Blood was oozing down his arm, as he fought against the Drokken, only to be punched against the wall. Angel rushed in, delivering a leaping kick to the Drokken's back. The Drokken roared and swung around, backhanding Angel across the area. He rolled onto his feet and ran at the Drokken, swinging his sword

The Drokken batted the blade away and uppercutted Angel, before attempting to stomp on him. Angel growled, swinging his sword and hitting flesh, but it was only a minor wound, not damaging enough to bring the Drokken down. If only, it made the Drokken angrier, as it grabbed Angel and threw him against the wall. He lost hold of his sword and got to his feet, punching the Drokken twice in the face. It swung its large fist, but Angel ducked and punched it across the jaw. He then slammed against the wall again, before rolling past the Drokken and kicking it

The Drokken growled and spun around, slashing his stomach open with its claws. Angel gritted his teeth, grabbing the Drokken by the wrist and throat, before pushing it against the wall. The Drokken lifted Angel up and dropped him on the ground, before kicking him along the ground. Angel came to a stop and got up, just as the Drokken fell upon him. However, a bright red flare was shoved into its face, as Angel kicked the Drokken back and got to his feet

"Thanks, Wes," he said

The Drokken roared, as Wesley moved out of the way. Angel ran at the beast and leapt over it, before grabbing his sword and throwing it, impaling the Drokken through the throat. It keeled over, as Angel helped Landok to his feet

"Impressive. You defeated the Drokken in single combat," Landok said, "Angel, you have earned my respect"

He then groaned in pain, as Wesley removed the broadsword

"Alas, the Drokken's poison is sweeping through my body. It is fatal to my kind, but we have the antidote in my world"

"We'll send you back home then," Wesley said, "Let's go"

††††††††††

The group arrived back at Caritas, as Landok stood on stage, holding the book

"Oh and Landok," Lorne said, "Tell my mother I went into the Pit"

"I feel we shall meet again," Landok said

"Oh god, I hope not"

Landok then opened the book and started reading, as a portal opened up behind him and he was sucked inside, the portal closing up again

"Well, that was exciting," Angel said, "Let's go home now, eh Cordy?"

"Cordelia?" Wesley asked

Angel, Wesley and Lorne looked around Caritas, but there was no sign of Cordelia

††††††††††

Cordelia opened her eyes. She was lying in the middle of a forest and looked to the sky, seeing two suns in the air. She got to her feet and looked around

"Oh shit," she said

††††††††††


	27. A Whole New World

††††††††††

"Cordy? Cordelia!" Angel cried

"She was caught in Landok's wake," Wesley said, "She's in the Host's dimension now"

"And I just got her back. Lorne, what can you tell us about your world?"

"Uh, I came here, I like it here and I'm never, never, never going back"

"You're coming with us"

"Which 'never' weren't you clear on?"

"Give me that book," Angel said

He grabbed it and opened it up, before reading the text. However, nothing happened, so he moved to the stage to try again, but same result again. Growling in frustration, he slammed the book shut and sat down heavily on the stage

"I just got her back," he said quietly

"It may be because the hotspot is now cold," Wesley suggested, "If we are to travel to Lorne's home world, we'll have to find another hotspot"

"Great, well, let's get onto it, like right now," Angel said

When they arrived back at the hotel, they found that Gunn was there, sitting on the couch with his head bowed, though he got to his feet when they arrived

"Gunn, what's up?" Wesley asked

"One of my crew got killed by a vamp cause I wasn't there," Gunn replied, "I have to stick with my gang. Where's Cordy?"

"She got sucked through a portal into the Host's dimension," Angel replied, taking Connor to his crib, "We're trying to get her back"

"I want to help you guys, but I can't, so just…bring her back, okay?"

Gunn didn't look his friends in the eye as he left the hotel

††††††††††

Cordelia looked around the forest. The best guess she could come up with was that she had been sucked into Lorne's dimension with Landok. Sighing, she closed her eyes and clicked her heels together three times, before opening her eyes

"Well, it was worth a try," she muttered

Just then, a demon appeared before her. It had yellowish skin with dark green markings and an orange collar of fur around its throat, as well as large fangs

"Okay, okay, you're gonna be a good demon, yeah, you're gonna stay right there and let me run the hell away from you"

Cordelia turned her back and started sprinting, hearing the demon give chase. However, she knew she couldn't run very far considering she was two months pregnant. The demon hound caught up to her with ease and knocked her down. Cordelia hit the soft ground, twisting her body so she landed on her side and rolled over to face the demon. However, she was caught by surprise when the demon started licking her face like a dog

"Okay, Fido, get off me"

The demon got off her, bounding away to another demon. This one was humanoid, with rubbery pink skin and wearing clothing that made him look like he was lost from the Medieval Times. Cordelia got to her feet, brushing herself off, as she watched the demon hound bound around its master like a happy dog

"Sure nice little…doggy you got there," she said

"Nice one, you've got me a cow," the humanoid demon grinned

"Hey, wait, I'm not a cow," Cordelia protested

"A talkative cow, too"

The humanoid demon then flicked his wrist, wrapping his whip around Cordelia's neck, before bounding her hands together and gagging her

"Come along, cow"

"_Oh shit,"_ Cordelia thought as she was led away

††††††††††

"How's things coming along?" Angel asked

"Well, I have found the text we need to travel to Pylea," Wesley replied, "But we need another hotspot and also, I keep finding references to iron"

"Good work, Wes, keep at it"

Angel turned away from the office and picked Connor up, holding him on his hip

"Don't worry, buddy, we're gonna get Mommy back. Hey, Mommy hasn't really gone far. Another dimension, sure, but not far. We'll get her back and then we're gonna talk about the baby. Yeah, you're gonna have a brother or a sister"

"So, how are you holding up?" Lorne asked, coming into the hotel

"I wanna go bad. I'm waiting for Wesley to have that Eureka moment"

"EUREKA!"

"Oh thank god," Angel sighed

"You mean he actually says Eureka?" Lorne asked

Wesley came tearing out of the office, a happy look on his face

"Iron is what is need if we're to stick together on the journey," he said, "The only thing I can think of thus far is handcuffs"

"Well, who do we know has handcuffs?" Angel asked, shifting Connor in his arms

"Well, I…wouldn't know," Wesley replied

"Wait, we'll use the car. Sure to be made of iron"

"Yeah and I've got some good news kids. I know where a hotspot is. Psychic friend of mine told me one on the condition I return to Pylea. Oh the nightmares that await me"

"Great, let's get everything together and get going," Angel said, "I want to save Cordelia. Wait, I need to visit Piper first"

"We'll get our stuff together," Wesley said, "But be warned, Angel, there might be a small chance we won't be coming back"

"We'll be coming back, Wes. You can count on it"

††††††††††

Cordelia's thoughts were about getting home to Angel and Connor. But here she was, shovelling demon horse poo. The pink demon had taken her to the nearby village, reminiscence of the 15th century England, where she was sold in the town centre like she was cattle. Her 'master' was a horrid-looking female demon of the same kind as her capturer. Cordelia was definitely not enjoying herself

"Psst," came a feminine voice

Cordelia followed the voice to a wall, where she could hear movement

"Who's there?"

"Are you new here?" came the voice, "How'd you get here?"

"I'm Cordelia and I came through a portal," Cordelia said, "But my friends will be coming for me"

"A p-p-portal?"

"How'd you get here?"

"I was born there," which was followed by silly laughter

"What's your name?" Cordelia asked

"My name? My name?"

"Traitor!" bellowed a deep voice

"Oh no!"

The woman ran off, as Cordelia was grabbed roughly and thrown to the ground by a group of armoured men led by a tubby Lorne-like demon in black leather

"Stay where you belong, cow," Constable Narwek demanded

The soldiers headed off, followed by Narwek, as Cordelia closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears as she silently prayed for Angel to hurry up and find her

††††††††††

"Okay, here we are," Angel said, "We ready?"

"No," Lorne replied, "But since you guys are here, I'll leave you to it"

He went to leave the Plymouth, but without looking back, Angel and Wesley grabbed him and pulled him back onto the seat

"Okay then, never mind, I'll stick with you guys"

"So, what are we waiting for?" Angel asked

"The right time," Wesley replied, "Connor is with Piper?"

"Yeah, he's in good hands while we're gone"

"Are we gonna sit around all night or get going?" Gunn asked, suddenly appearing

He climbed over the back of the Plymouth and settled next to Lorne

"What are you doing here?" Wesley asked in surprise

"I stopped by the hotel earlier, caught hold of a message. Sounded like the captain was going down with the ship. 'Sides, my crew can handle themselves"

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road," Angel said

Wesley opened up the Pylean book and started reading the text, as a large blue portal opened up across the street. Angel revved the engine and floored the accelerator, shooting towards the portal. The Plymouth passed through, as the portal closed up and the textbook fell onto the road

††††††††††

Okay, following this chapter, there will be no Connor appearances until the end, so bear with me til then. And onto the next chapter: Pylea


	28. Welcome to Pylea

††††††††††

Cordelia was out in the town, following after her 'master' and carrying her shopping for her, moving around from stall to stall. All around her, Cordelia saw other humans dressed in rags and wearing the electrified collars. Slaves. Every human was a slave to the demons of Lorne's world. She hated it. She wanted to be at home, snuggled up in bed with her baby boy. She knew Angel would come for her, but she had no choice but to wait for him to arrive. Suddenly, Cordelia felt dizzy as a vision approached

"Careful with my viper's milk, cow. That's worth more than you," her master warned

"Oh god. No, no, no, not now. NO!"

_A villager tending to his pastures, as a Drokken appeared out of nowhere and tore the villager to shreds_

"There's a villager…he's being attacked by a Drokken," Cordelia said from the ground

"Cursed!" her master cried, "My cow is cursed!"

"You have to help him. He'll be killed. A Drokken will kill him"

By now, the rest of the villagers had joined in a circle around her, calling her cursed, as Constable Narwek and his men arrived, before taking Cordelia to the castle

††††††††††

A portal opened up in the middle of the forest, as a black Plymouth GTX came flying out and slid to a stop out in the open suns

"Argh, get me the blanket, I'm gonna be on fire," Angel cried, before checking himself and laughing, "Hey, I'm not on fire"

He grinned and looked up at the twin suns, before standing up and spreading his arms out, while Wesley checked over everyone else

"We made it and we didn't become a freakish Siamese grouplet"

"That was a problem? How come no one told me?" Gunn asked, slightly upset

"Can anyone notice just how much fire I'm _not_ on?" Angel asked

"Maybe the suns in this dimension doesn't affect you here," Wesley said

"As fascinating as this all is, let's get going," Lorne said, "We've got to hide the car, cause it's gonna stick out like a major sore thumb"

"Look at those branches in the sunlight. I'll get them," Angel cried with glee

He raced out into the sunlight, enjoying the warmth of it, before bringing the branches back. Within moments, the car was covered, as the group set off

"Watch your head while here. Xenophobia, big word here," Lorne warned

"Why would people be afraid of Xena?" Gunn asked, "She's kinda fly"

"_Xeno_phobia. Fear of foreigners," Wesley corrected

"Oh. Can we forget I just said that?"

The group moved along through a back alley, before stopping before a small house

"I'll go in here," Lorne said, "Guy here, we've been besties since childhood"

Lorne walked away and headed into the house. Within moments, his 'friend', who was shouting out 'traitor', was chasing him back outside

"Uh, how things change," Lorne said, "Let's go"

The group took off, running out into the town centre, as soldiers arrived. The whole thing was causing the villagers to flee, some holding back to see what was happening

"Oh, this is just getting better and better," Angel muttered

††††††††††

Cordelia was placed before a group of demonic monks; all who glared at her with emotionless black eyes

"Please, you have to help the villager," she said, "A Drokken is going to kill him"

"The villager is dead. Our people found him," said a monk, "Time to find out if you are indeed cursed, cow"

Two monks grabbed Cordelia, as another grabbed a hot poker and headed towards her

"No, no, please no, god no, please, no!"

After about twenty minutes of testing, Cordelia was lying on the ground, worn out from the test, as the monks convened together

"She is cursed with the gift of foresight," the lead monk, Silas, said, "You all know what that means. Take her away"

Cordelia didn't have the energy to fight, as she was taken away

_"Angel, please hurry"_

††††††††††

"Sure is a lot of soldiers," Wesley said

"We're fighting our way out of here," Angel said, "I have to find Cordy"

"I'm with you there," Gunn said

A soldier charged at Gunn, but he threw him aside, before whirling around and ducking a sword, punching the soldier in the ribs, then dropping him with a punch to the chest. Angel blocked a soldier's slice and knife-handed him on the throat, taking him out instantly, before dodging two soldiers and sweeping their legs out. Wesley dodged a villager's pitchfork, grabbing the weapon and using it to block a soldier's sword. Kicking the villager in the gut, Wesley then disarmed the soldier and took his sword, while Lorne sang a high-pitch note that stopped two soldiers in their tracks. Grinning, he kicked one soldier in the groin, before punching the other soldier

"I think we're winning," Wesley cried in triumph, watching the soldiers fall

Five minutes later and the group were bound and on their knees, as Constable Narwek arrived, surrounded by soldiers, before heading over to Lorne

"Kreslorneswath of the Deathwok Clan, you have returned," he said, before spitting on Lorne, "A traitor to our world and beliefs and who allows himself to wallow with filth"

"Go blow yourself, crinkly," Gunn said

"You dare talk back against your betters?" Narwek asked

"I'll repeat, go blow yourself"

"Gunn, stop," Wesley said

Narwek sank his fist into Gunn's stomach, winding him

"Yeah, the only way you can prove yourself against someone is if he's tied up"

Narwek ignored Gunn, before staring at Wesley and then Angel

"Take them to the dungeon. From there, they can be judged by our Monarch"

The group were hauled to their feet and taken away to the castle. Lorne was taken away from them, while Angel, Wesley and Gunn were thrown in dungeon together

"It's like being in the Tower of London," Wesley said

"It wasn't that bad," Angel said, "Damn, the walls are too thick"

"How do you know?" Gunn asked

"I can tell. I could punch my way out, but it will be a _very_ long time"

"I hear talking," Wesley said from the door

Angel and Gunn shuffled over to the door, with Angel leaning against it

"They're talking about a girl with visions. Cordelia. They say that the Covenant of Trombli tested her for her powers. They say she screamed"

"Bastards," Wesley cried

"Here they come. We're about to be judged"

"Oh, I can't wait," Gunn said

Shackled, the trio were taken from the dungeons and led upstairs, where they met Lorne, while Constable Narwek stood before them

"What happened to you?" Angel asked

"They threw me a welcome back celebration. I was so touched, I almost cried. Okay, they threw me into a room, shoved me around and asked some questions"

"You will now be judged by the Eater of Our Enemies' Flesh, the Scourge of Our Foes' Lands, the Great and Terrible Monarch of Pylea," Narwek said

"On three, we break out of here and look for Cordy," Angel said

The guards grabbed them, ready to take them inside, as the doors opened

"One…two…three"

Angel threw his elbow back, winding his soldier, as Gunn whirled around with a double-handed strike. Wesley struck a guard, as Angel was knocked down to his knees. Gunn was shoved onto his stomach, as Wesley went to help Angel

"Ahem"

The four looked up, all stunned at what they saw

"Hi guys," Princess Cordelia grinned

††††††††††


	29. Princess Cordelia

††††††††††

"Off with their heads," Cordelia cried, "Just kidding. Release them and then go!"

The guards and servants all left the room, closing the doors, as Cordelia got up from her throne, grinning with her arms open. Wesley, Gunn and Lorne rushed towards her, however, they ran _past _her and started attacking the bowls of food. Cordelia looked at them confused, before turning to Angel who had a small smile

"Sorry if we took too long in getting here"

"Oh no, it's completely fine. So, where's Connor?"

"He's with Piper. I didn't want to bring him here"

"Good choice. He's probably better off there while we're here"

"You look good, Cordy," Angel grinned, looking her up and down

"Thanks, Angel," she smiled back

Angel pulled her into his arms, glad to have her back. He smiled when she put her arms around him, holding him close, as he kissed her forehead

"Everything okay?" he asked, "I heard what the monks did and-"

"The baby's fine," Cordelia replied, "I'm completely unharmed"

"You know, I can't believe that they've made you Princess," Wesley said

"Oh yeah, you know how it is," Cordelia said, her hand in Angel's

"Well, I can," Lorne said, "See, there's this prophecy"

"Oh great, another one," Angel muttered, before catching his reflection in the full-body mirror, "Is that how my hair always looks?"

"Yeah," Cordelia replied

"How come no one told me?"

"Because there's nothing wrong with it, honey, stop worrying. You were saying, Lorne?"

"Oh yeah, prophecy. Apparently, the one with the visions that's connected to the Powers That Be will come to Pylea, assume the monarchy and restore the land"

"Great, let's start restoring the land," Cordelia said, "How do I do that?"

Lorne simply shrugged, eating a bunch of grapes, while Wesley chewed on a nectarine

"You know, I'd like to go through some of the archives here. See if we can find a way back to our dimension, since we lost our book"

"Pretty quick to return to the no-princess-Cordy-world, huh?" Cordelia asked

"Well, the whole idea was to come here, grab you, get out of here," Angel said

"Think you could get us to the archives?" Wesley asked Cordelia

Ten minutes later, Wesley was pouring over the ancient texts, slowly deciphering the language, as he tried to find a way back home. Cordelia had returned to her chambers, while Angel and Lorne had left the castle to view the dimension

"So, whatcha got?" Gunn asked

"This is quite fascinating actually. These three books are actually one"

"Huh?"

"For example, there is a text that starts in this book, continues in another and finally concludes in a third. Confusing at first, but interesting nonetheless. I'm also finding a few references to a 'Groosalugg'"

Wesley smiled and closed up the books, noting the image on their fronts: a wolf on one, a ram on another and a red hart on the third. Wesley frowned and placed the books beside each other, as Gunn caught on

"Wolf, Ram and Hart," he said, "Oh damn! Why can't we go somewhere without them?"

††††††††††

"It's quite a nice-looking place," Angel said, grinning at the sunlight

"Yeah, that only lasts for about two minutes," Lorne said, "Here we are"

They had arrived a house where the family was outside, engaging in a wrestling match. The winner was a large, bearded Pylean, who turned around

"Kreslorneswath? You have returned"

Lorne then had to wipe the spit off his face

"My mother," he said

"That's your mom?" Angel asked in surprise

"The shameful offspring of my loins has come back with a filthy cow. Your father was right, we ate the wrong son," Lorne's mother said

"Say, Mom, did you notice anything strange when I disappeared?" Lorne asked

"We noticed much feasting and dancing. Your brother did the dance of joy for three moons straight. Numfar, do the dance of joy"

Lorne's brother started to do a strange dance, as Landok arrived

"This is no cow," he said, "This is Angel, a mighty warrior. I saw him dispatch a powerful Drokken, one that nearly killed me"

"Is this true?"

"Uh…yeah," Angel replied

"Then come, you shall join us in the feasting of champions"

A large fur cloak was placed upon Angel's shoulders. He started to protest, but then saw his reflection in a mirror provided by a Pylean and he grinned

"Alright then, let's get going"

"Oh, this is fantastic," Lorne muttered

††††††††††

"Wolfram and Hart?" Cordelia asked, "What are they doing here?"

"Evil purposes, of course," Wesley replied, "I also found references to a 'Groosalugg' and something about a 'com-shuck'"

"Neither of those sound like fun. So, we have to get out of here"

"Your Highness," Silas said, coming into the room, "I hope everything is fine"

"Everything's good," Cordelia replied

"Good. We have fetched the Groosalugg from the Slime Pits of Urg. He shall be here about sunset"

"You let me know when he gets here"

"As you wish"

"One thing," Wesley said, "She doesn't know what a com-shuck is"

"You know, I'm out of town and all, so I wouldn't have a clue," Cordelia said

"The com-shuck is a mating ritual. Good day," Silas said

"Okay, I'm getting out of here," Cordelia said

Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia were moving through the corridors, trying to find an exit. Cordelia was carrying an armful of jewellery and other expensive gifts, as Wesley entered a room and opened up the trapdoor leading into the sewer

"Okay, Cordy, off you go"

"In this gown? Are you insane? Let's find another way"

"There is no other way"

"You go first"

"Fine"

Wesley jumped into the sewer, followed by Gunn. Cordelia was about to slowly make her way down, but Silas and his monks arrived, closing up the sewers

"One of the servants must have left it open," Cordelia said, "I was just checking"

"Very well then, Your Highness. Let's go"

Cordelia grimaced as she was taken back into the throne room

††††††††††

Angel was quite enjoying himself, drinking, feasting and telling the children about his tales of triumph against the forces of evil. He was currently telling them about the time when he sliced Lindsey's hand off last year, while Lorne was sitting away from the group, drinking a mug of ale

"Angel, it is time for the buknar," Landok said, "Will you swing the crevil?"

"Sure," Angel grinned

"Oh, Angel, no, the buknar is-" Lorne started, but was ignored

Angel stepped up onto the stage and was given an axe, as he looked down at Fred who had her neck on a chopping block

"Swing the crevil," Lorne's mother cried, "Sever the cow's head"

"Just do it, just cut my head off," Fred muttered

"I…uh…I…I can't"

Angel threw the axe aside and picked Fred up, removing her bonds

"Will you not swing the crevil?" Landok asked

"Sorry, Landok, not this time"

"Get him!"

Landok jumped up onto the stage, but Angel kicked him off, before dropping a guard from his horse and jumping on, taking Fred with him. The Pyleans went for Angel, but Lorne stepped onto the stage, stopping them

"Stop! In the name of love. Before you break my heart," he sang

Everyone started grimacing in pain, as Angel and Fred rode off. Lorne was quite enjoying this, singing the song and causing them pain. However, he turned around, as a soldier came charging at him with his lance

"Oh shit!" Lorne cried, before getting knocked off the stage

Meanwhile, Angel and Fred had ridden out of town and into the woods, losing the soldiers, before dismounting the horse and tying it off

"Handsome man…saved me from the monsters," Fred grinned

And then she ran off

††††††††††


	30. The Groosalugg

††††††††††

"Where's Cordelia?" Wesley asked

"She must have got caught," Gunn said, "Come on, we gotta get away"

The pair set off from the castle, trying to find Angel and Lorne. They couldn't find him in the village, where there was a big commotion, but they couldn't see Angel there. Instead, Wesley and Gunn headed off for the woods

††††††††††

Angel chased after Fred, following her to a large cave. He slowly entered after her, seeing that it was a large cavern, with scribbling all over the walls. He saw Fred writing something on the wall in the far corner, before noticing a wallet and seeing her name, realizing she was the girl lost from the library

"Winifred Burkle," he read

Fred looked over her shoulder at him, wearing red-rimmed glasses, before heading over and placing the wallet in another place

"So, what's all this?" Angel asked

"I don't know. I have a lot of things on my mind and I just gotta let it all out"

"Huh. Well this writing here, it's what's used to open a portal"

"A portal? Oh, there was a girl. She came through a portal. The guards came for me. They took her to the castle. She's gonna be killed!"

"Oh Cordy? No, she's fine. They made her princess," Angel said

"They…princess…oh…well…when, when I came here…no, they didn't do that…oh well…that's nice, nice for her"

Angel smiled at her rambling and pressed her glasses further up her nose, causing a large smile to break all over her face

"Come on, I've got some friends over at the castle. We'll go there"

"Uh-huh, sure…let's go…you lead the way"

††††††††††

Cordelia was bored. She was annoyed how Silas and the Covenant seemed to watch her every move. She was annoyed that her monarchy was overshadowed by Wolfram and Hart. She was also annoyed by the fact that she would have to mate with the Groosalugg, a being she had in mind that was disgusting to look at. How did anyone expect her to sleep with a creature from slime pits?

"Sunset is nearly upon us. The Groosalugg approaches," Silas said

"Yes, thank you for that very not-interesting piece of information," Cordelia said, _"I have got to get out of here"_

Just as Cordelia was starting to look around for a way out, the doors opened up, revealing a hunchbacked, hairy demon carrying a set of bags. However, it stepped aside to reveal a tall, muscular man with long black hair and large blue/purple eyes

"Over in the corner there," he ordered

The demon hobbled off, as the man strode up to Cordelia and bowed before

"Your Highness, I, the Groosalugg, have arrived"

"You're the Groosalugg?" Cordelia asked in surprise

"Indeed"

"Wow"

††††††††††

Angel and Fred were heading back to the castle. Angel had discarded the fur cloak, wearing his black shirt open to show the white singlet beneath. As they walked through the rocky outcrops, two soldiers on horseback arrived, wielding their swords. One of them charged, as Angel brought Fred to the ground, dodging the horse

"You're gonna see something really scary, alright"

Fred crawled away to a large rock, as Angel got to his feet and faced the two soldiers. Then, he assumed his vamp face. But something went completely different. His face didn't quite change. His entire body did, his skin turned green, as claws grew from his fingers. Spikes grew from his chin and forehead, as his ears became pointy, fangs grew and his eyes turned red. Angel roared and leapt at a soldier, bringing him down, before tearing his throat open. The other soldier charged, but Angel lunged at the horse, grabbing the soldier and ripping his head off. He lapped at the blood, before spying Fred and hobbling over to her, unable to stand completely straight. Angel sniffed Fred all over, before taking off towards the woods

††††††††††

Wesley and Gunn were moving through the woods when a large green demon appeared before them. It growled and lunged at the pair, taking them down, before falling upon Gunn, trying to bring its fangs to his throat. Gunn struggled to keep the beast off him, as Wesley grabbed a branch and snapped it across its back. The demon smacked Wesley aside and turned back to Gunn, as Wesley looked at the demon's torn shirt, seeing the griffin tattoo on the shoulder blade

"It's Angel. Gunn, it's Angel!"

At that moment, Angel stopped his assault, sniffing the air. He saw Fred nearby, her right hand covered in blood. Growling, Angel headed towards Fred, as she took them away from the pair. Wesley watched them go and started tending to Gunn's injuries

"That was Angel?" Gunn asked as Wesley placed mud on his wound

"I think that was Angel's demon in its purest form. The dimension here has disrupted Angel's balance between human and demon. He can withstand sunlight and has a reflection, but when he tries to tap into his demon side, it completely comes out"

"So that demon is what's lurking inside Angel all the time?"

"I believe so. It's possible that that kind of demon is what created the first vampire, but I'm just speculating. Good thing that woman came along"

At that moment, a large group of men burst out of the bushes, wielding weapons

"Hmm, let's see, Angel the Beast or the Merry Men," Gunn said, "You take the twenty on the left, I'll get the ten on the right"

"You will submit now or you shall perish," said the leader

"Yeah, I'll take Angel over these guys"

††††††††††

Fred led the way back to her cave, making sure that Angel was following her. Once inside the cave, Angel headed towards her, but stopped, catching his reflection in the mirror. He struck it, growling, before realising it was himself. And in that moment, Angel reverted back to his human form, collapsing on the ground in shock, quivering over what he had just done. He could taste the soldiers' blood in his mouth, see the shocked looks on his friends' faces and it scared him of what was inside him

††††††††††

Cordelia was quite enjoying her time with the Groosalugg. After telling all the servants to leave the room, she listened to the Groosalugg's tale. He had been born as a half-human, half-demon hybrid and was cast out by his village, forced to die out in the wilderness. However, the Groosalugg defeated every creature that had tried to kill him over the years, gaining the name 'Groosalugg the Undefeated'. He had been out in the Slime Pits killing a demon when he was called to the castle in order to perform the com-shuck, in which Cordelia's visions would be passed to him. Cordelia had completely balked at that idea and instead, she and the Groosalugg decided to make a new set of rules for the land, but as they were doing so, Silas arrived

"Have you performed the com-shuck?" he demanded

"No and I don't think it's going to happen," Cordelia said, "We're changing thi-"

"Get out"

The Groosalugg bowed his head and left the room

"Hey, you can't talk to him lik-"

"Silence your tongue, cow. You will do things our way or else"

"Or else what?" Cordelia demanded

Silas motioned for a monk to come forth and place a dish on the table. He removed the lid, revealing Lorne's severed head on the plate

††††††††††


	31. Angel vs the Groosalugg

††††††††††

"So, how are we going to get out of this one?" Wesley asked

He and Gunn had been taken captive and were placed in stocks before the liberated humans as they passed the sentence for death

"I've got a plan," Gunn replied

"Really? What's that?"

"We die horribly and painfully. You go to Hell and I spend eternity in the arms of Baby Jesus"

Just as the sentence was passed, a group of soldiers sent by Silas arrived at the base, cutting their way through the humans. Wesley and Gunn straightened themselves, not an easy task with the heavy stocks, but managed to take out a few soldiers. When the battle was over, a few soldiers fled the scene, as the humans tended to their fallen

"Release them," said a man, "You fought with us, despite being shackled"

The stocks were removed, as the man handed a sword to Wesley

"Our leader was killed. You shall be our new leader"

"Why do people keep putting me in charge?" Wesley asked

"I have no idea," Gunn replied

††††††††††

Cordelia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Lorne's head was on a plate before her. Nothing else, just his head. She couldn't believe he was dead. He was dead, all because of her. Then, he opened his eyes, grinned and she screamed

"Okay, understandable, let it all out. That's it, let it out. That is an impressive set of lungs you've got. Alright, shut up now!" Lorne said

Cordelia closed her mouth and peered closely at him

"What the?"

"My fun-loving Deathwok Clan, well cut off our heads and we'll keep on ticking, unless you mutilate our bodies, which I'm guessing they haven't done yet"

"So we've got to find your body and put you back together," Cordelia said

Ten minutes later, Cordelia was wearing the dress of one of her servants, carrying Lorne's head in a basket as she searched for the torture chamber. She found it and took Lorne's head out of the basket, looking around for his body

"Oh no, it's all torn apart. How can that be? My body's mutilated, but I'm still alive," Lorne cried, "What a minute. Since when did I have five toes?"

"Your Highness," the Groosalugg said, appearing behind her, "I had a feeling he was your friend and took the liberty of smuggling his body out to his family's house"

"Oh really? Oh, you are a champ," Lorne said

Cordelia grinned and threw her arms around the Groosalugg, smacking Lorne's head against a post, before placing a kiss on his cheek

††††††††††

Wesley and Gunn were planning out their game for the night. With the humans, they were going to storm the castle and destroy a device that could kill all the humans in the dimension, thus liberating the humans from the demons. Wesley had told the humans to spare Cordelia, as Angel and Fred arrived. They had come down from the cave, after killing a group of soldiers sent by Silas. Angel had managed to resist transforming as he defended Fred and took out the entire group

"This is where you guys got to, huh?" Angel asked, "Been looking for you"

"Angel, how are you feeling?" Wesley asked

"I'm fine now. Look, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. But you should know, the demon is always inside me. That's why I fired you guys. The darkness was growing and I didn't want you guys anywhere near it"

"That's cool," Gunn said, "'Sides, we're probably gonna die tonight anyway"

"We're going to storm the castle," Wesley said, "Your mission is to draw out the Groosalugg, a formidable opponent, and kill him"

"I'll help you prepare a challenger's torch," Fred offered

"We captured this Pylean on the outskirts," cried a human, his shirt in the grasp of Landok, who carried him with ease

"Angel. I would fight you here and now, but I cannot, due to commitments"

He opened the basket he was carrying, revealing Lorne's head

"He was…"

"Something"

"Yeah"

"Is that all I get?" Lorne asked indignantly

Angel, Wesley and Gunn all cried out in shock. Fred was unmoved by it, as Landok closed up the basket and continued on through the base, heading towards home, as Angel and Fred looked around the small base of operations

"Alright, let's get started on it then," Wesley said, returning to his plans

"Wes, man, these plans, some of these guys will die," Gunn whispered to him

"If you try not to get someone killed, you get everyone killed"

††††††††††

Night had fallen, as Wesley, Gunn and the band of humans made their way to the bushes outside the castle, watching the two guards. An alarm was raised, as humans attacked the west side of the castle. Wesley sent men out towards the back of the castle, before heading out with Gunn to the east, battling against the soldiers

Meanwhile, Angel and Fred entered the courtyard, with Angel carrying a large, three-flamed torch, standing on the stage and raising the challenger's torch

"I challenge the Groosalugg to mortal combat!" Angel cried, "Come out and face me, coward!"

"Why you say that for?" Fred groaned, "That's gonna piss him off"

"Who calls?" the Groosalugg asked

Just then, Cordelia had a vision: _the Groosalugg was wrestling with a large, green demon and he was losing the fight. Now was the time it would begin_

"You can't go," she cried, having grown fond of the Groosalugg, "You'll die"

Silas ignored her, shutting her in the room as he pulled the Groosalugg aside

"You care for her? Then you must fight. This man, if he kills you, he will take the Princess and he will defile her, use her for his own pleasure. And then, when she has no energy left to scream for mercy, he will kill her"

"He will not," the Groosalugg growled, "He will die!"

Angel waited patiently as the castle doors opened up and the Groosalugg rode out on his horse, his demon eyes blazing with rage. Tying off his horse, the Groosalugg grabbed a small sword and a mace, as Angel got into a stance

"You have to stop the fight," Cordelia cried, "The Groosalugg will die!"

"Silence, cow," Silas said, slapping her, "Your rule has gone on too long"

Groosalugg roared and charged, swinging his sword. Angel dodged to the left, before narrowly ducking under the mace, scoring a boot to the chest. Rolling to his feet, Angel lashed out with his right fist, catching Groosalugg on the jaw, then sinking his left fist into his stomach. Angel soared through the air after getting struck on the jaw by the mace. He quickly got to his feet, deflecting Groosalugg's sword arm and getting hit in the chest by the mace, as the Groosalugg then smacked his legs out from underneath him, before slamming the mace against his chest, breaking some ribs

"You will defile her, you animal!" he roared, kicking Angel in the face

Angel coughed up blood, rolling away onto his feet and kicking the Groosalugg in the stomach, but his foot was grabbed, as he was thrown through the air

Meanwhile, Wesley and Gunn had killed the outside soldiers and breached the castle, fighting their way through the corridors as they tried to search for the Covenant's room where the device was kept. Silas was taking Cordelia with him when he saw Wesley and Gunn. The pair rushed for him, but soldiers arrived to block their way

Angel blocked Groosalugg's fist and punched him on the jaw, as he scored a blow to the stomach, before getting struck in the throat with a forearm, falling onto his back. Angel was glad he didn't have to breathe, as the Groosalugg picked him up and threw him against a stall, destroying it. Angel slowly got to his feet, as the Groosalugg grabbed a bola and threw it, tying Angel's arm to a stand, before striding over and delivering multiple blows to his face

"You will kill her! You would use her until she has no use to you!"

"If you're talking about Cordelia," Angel groaned, "You're sorely mistaken"

And with that, Angel transformed into the Van-tal, snapping the bola

††††††††††


	32. There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb

This is the last chapter of the story. So I just wanna say thanks for all the reviews, especially you, David Fishwick, and others. Well, here it is, the end of the story. Enjoy

††††††††††

Angel roared and lunged at the Groosalugg, taking him down. The Groosalugg grunted and threw Angel off him, getting to his feet. Snarling, Angel lunged and swiped with his claws, drawing blood on Groosalugg's check. The hybrid punched him back, but Angel didn't move from the blow, as he grabbed Groosalugg by the throat and lifted him up, slashing his stomach, then tossing him against a stall. Groosalugg groaned from amongst the splintered wood, as Angel fell upon him, slashing away at him. The Groosalugg grabbed his wrists, keeping the claws away from him, as Angel bared his fangs and brought them down to Groosalugg's throat

††††††††††

Wesley killed a soldier, as Gunn parried a move and sliced the soldier across the chest. Two more soldiers arrived, but Wesley and Gunn made quick work of them, before following after Silas, entering the room where they found Cordelia lying against the wall, groaning in pain, as Silas raised his hand over the device

"With one touch, I will send out a signal that will explode the head of every cow in this dimension," Silas said, "Drop your weapons and I might be merciful"

Anger flitted across Cordelia's face, as she rose up silently behind Silas, grabbing an axe on the way and swinging the weapon hard. Silas's body dropped to the floor alongside his head, as Cordelia then planted the blade into the device, completely destroying it, as she turned to Wesley and Gunn

"Bit of advice, don't talk too much," she said to Silas's body, "Guys, we have to help the Groosalugg. He's fighting a demon and he's gonna get killed"

"Cordy," Wesley said, "That demon that Groosalugg is fighting? It's Angel"

"Oh no," Cordelia cried

††††††††††

Groosalugg headbutted Angel, but it had no effect, as Angel snarled and brought his fangs close. However, he leaned back, resuming his human form, before stepping away from the Groosalugg

"I'm not going to kill you," he said

"Stop!" came Cordelia's voice

The Groosalugg struck Angel in the face and swung his other fist, but Angel caught his wrist and kicked him in the stomach, before scoring another blow to the face

"Jeez, here I was, trying to be all noble and all. What part of that didn't you get?"

"Stop the fighting," Cordelia cried, arriving between the pair, "I love him"

"You love me?" the Groosalugg asked

"Not you, dumb-ass. Him, I love him," she said, motioning to Angel, "You okay?"

"Am now," Angel grinned, pulling her close and kissing her

"Eh, Angel, you smell like blood"

"Sorry"

††††††††††

"I've had a vision. Two in fact," Cordelia said, "In one, you keep your head"

The monk had a horrified look on his face as he bowed before her

"What does the Princess ask of us?"

"No more slavery. All humans are free. If I find out that the humans are being mistreated, you'll have me to answer to. You might want to write it down"

The monk scribbled down Cordelia's words, as Wesley arrived with Fred and Gunn, carrying a small handful of books

"Theses books are really interesting," he grinned, "I think I've found our way back"

"Those books are," the monk said before catching Cordelia's look, "A gift from us to you. I hope you enjoy them"

Cordelia smiled, before turning to the Groosalugg, who stood at the throne

"You're in charge now. And you've got a long road ahead. Slavery has ended but reconstruction has just begun"

"What is this 'reconstruction'?" he asked

"Gunn, you wanna field this?"

"It means. Saying people are free, don't make em free. You've got races that hate each other. You got some folks getting work they don't want. Others losing the little they had. You're looking at social confusion, economic depression and probably some riots. Good luck," Gunn replied with a grin

" You'll do fine"

"It worries me… But not as much as... Do you have to go, Majesty?"

"I don't want to. I'm really gonna miss your eyes, and the 'majesty' thing. But I have a job to do back home. I've got a kid who really wants to see me and I've got another one on the way. It was really fun being your princess"

Cordelia smiled at the Groosalugg and turned away, as Wesley and others joined her. As they the throne room, the crowd all bowed before Cordelia on the way out

"Should people be bowing in a free society?" Wesley asked

"These things take time," Cordelia replied

††††††††††

"Ah, I feel much better now," Lorne said, "Though, it would have been better if I wasn't on the lice pile. That and these clothes I have to wear"

"Aren't you gonna say something to your mom?" Angel asked

Lorne's mother was pacing in the living room, a slightly sad look on her face

"I mean, she did put you back together and she could've done worse with your body"

"You're right. Thanks, Mom, for not throwing me onto the maggots pile"

"You came back," Lorne's mother said, "You came back…and CAUSED MORE SHAME FOR US ALL! Leave this place, begone back to your place where nobody knows their place, Kreslorneswath!"

Lorne and Angel quickly left the house, as a crashing sound came within

"You know, that's what I love about Earth," Lorne said, "Nobody knows their place. It was a good thing I came back here. Now I know I don't belong here at all"

"Well, that's good then," Angel smiled

"You know, I feel like I could sing. I should. Somewhere over the rainbow"

Lorne's singing caused instant pain in the humans working nearby, as he and Angel headed back towards the castle

††††††††††

A portal opened up in the ruined building of Caritas, as a Plymouth GTX came flying out and crashed into the bar. Angel got out of the car, helping Cordelia out. She was still wearing her princess gown and tiara, as Wesley helped Fred out while carrying the small stack of books, as the group headed back to the Hyperion. Along the way, Angel and Cordelia stopped by Piper's apartment, picking their son up, who seemed glad to see his mother, running on his small legs towards her, although he did fall over along the way. Lorne had remained at Caritas, as the group arrived back at the Hyperion, walking through the courtyard. Cordelia was talking to Connor as he played with her tiara, while Angel bounded up the stairs

"I wanna say it first," he said, before throwing open the doors, "There's no place like – Willow?"

The red-haired witch looked up from the couch with a sad look on her face

"What's going on?" Cordelia asked, entering with Connor, "Willow?"

She got up from the couch and stood before the group, but before she could speak, Angel knew what she was going to say, judging from her look and posture

"It's Buffy," he said

††††††††††


End file.
